| pubmed-article:11766086 | pubmed:abstractText | The effectiveness of repeated hepatic dearterialization (RHD) therapy was evaluated in 26 patients with unresectable primary and secondary liver tumors. RHD was performed in 12 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), 7 with hepatic metastases from colorectal carcinoma, and 7 with hepatic metastases from gastric carcinoma. It was repeatedly carried out by occluding the hepatic artery for 1 h twice daily. All patients concurrently received an intra-arterial infusion of anticancer drugs. More than 50% remission of the hepatic tumors, defined as a partial response (PR), was demonstrated in 8 patients (31%). A higher PR was seen in hepatic tumors from metastatic gastric cancer (5 out of 7 patients; 71%). Most patients who suffered severe complications had HCC with liver cirrhosis. These preliminary results suggest that RHD with intra-arterial chemotherapy is an acceptable palliative treatment for patients with unresectable liver metastasis from gastric cancer; however, the majority of patients with HCC are not responsive to such treatment, primarily because most have underlying cirrhosis predisposing to the development of postoperative complications at an unacceptably high rate. | lld:pubmed |
