ANGIOGRAPHY AND REGIONAL CHEMOTHERAPY IN TREATMENT OF BREAST CANCER PATIENTS

Abstract

The aim of the study was to evaluate the safety of regional chemotherapy and to find the most optimal technique for regional administration of chemotherapy in the arteries of the breast taking into account the localization of the tumor. Diagnostic angiography and regional chemotherapy were performed in 10 patients with breast cancer. Cancer of the right breast was diagnosed in 6 women, left - in 3 women, tumors of both breasts were detected in 1 patient. For regional administration cyclophosphamide (7) and paclitaxel (3) were used. The estimations of the doses were carried out according to a standard procedure. Chemotherapy medicines were infused in the arteries of the breast under fluoroscopic control, slowlY., for 30 min. In the most patients (6 of 10 patients) the angiographic pattern was nonspecific. At large tumor sizes pathological vessels and areas of hypervascularization were identified (4). The catheterization of the internal thoracic artery on the side of the lesion for regional chemotherapy was performed in 9 out of 10 cases. With tumors of large sizes and lesions of lymph nodes chemotherapy medicines were additionally injected into the axillary artery (2 of 10 patients). The catheterization of the external thoracic artery was performed when the tumor was localized in the outer parts of the breast (1). Complications of regional chemotherapy and severe systemic toxicity were not observed. Diagnostic angiography allowed assessing the vascular anatomy of the thoracic arteries, the sources of blood supply of breast tumor and most optimally planning further therapeutic endovascular intervention. Thus, regional chemotherapy is a safe method of treatment for breast cancer that does not have severe systemic toxicity.