Abstract
Ten years' experience with intra-aortic infusion chemotherapy for 114 patients with unresectable or recurrent gastrointestinal malignant tumors is described. A marked response (1-B in Karnofsky's criteria) was obtained in a type of simple peritoneal dissemination of stomach carcinoma and in a locally recurrent type of rectal carcinoma. However, the overall response rate was low and the duration of response was generally short for gastrointestinal malignant tumors. The rationale of chemotherapy by the intra-aortic route is to enhance the antitumor response and to reduce drug toxicity as compared with that by the intravenous route. The drug of choice is 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) in intraaortic continuous infusion. As far as 5-FU is concerned, no toxic manifestation was observed in most cases. However, the major complication. i.e.. aortic perforation at the level of an indwelling catheter tip, which is attributed to the chemical action of 5-FU, occurred in two cases. Cancer chemotherapy is discussed on the basis of our experience with intra-aortic infusion treatment with 5-FU. Our previous results suggest that the drug sensitivity of individual cancer tissues is the most important factor.
Published Version
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