[Therapeutic results of intra-arterial infusion chemotherapy using an implantable reservoir on metastatic liver tumors].

Forty-four patients with unresectable liver tumors including 25 colorectal cancers, 7 gastric cancers, 6 breast cancer, and 6 other diseases, were treated by intra-arterial infusion chemotherapy using an implantable reservoir. The catheter was placed in hepatic artery via left subclavian artery or by direct insertion at laparotomy. Adriamycin, epirubicin or cisplatin were administered intermittently. Response rate was 31.8% for colorectal cancer, 42.9% for gastric cancer, and 60.0% for breast cancer, averaging 37.5% for all cases. Response in colorectal cancer tended to be higher for cases of H2, well-differentiated adenocarcinoma, and v(-). Response was also validated by survival time and changes in CEA. In a few patients, metastatic lesions could be resected after this treatment. Our results indicate that in combination with an aggressive surgical procedure, this treatment may improve the prognosis of patients with metastatic liver tumors.