[Means of effective and practical intra-arterial chemotherapy for locally invasive bladder cancer--with special reference to clinical analysis of bladder cancer patients treated by intermittent intra-arterial infusion using an implantable port system].

Fifty-six patients with locally invasive bladder cancer were treated by chemotherapy with intermittent arterial infusion from an implanted reservoir and alteration of intrapelvic blood flow. The tip of an infusion catheter was inserted selectively into an internal iliac artery by an angiographic technique. Superior gluteal artery and the other internal iliac artery were then embolized with steel coils so that the drugs would perfuse throughout the tumor through a single catheter. Treatment consisted of intermittent injection of cisplatin (10 mg/body) and doxorubicin (10 mg/body) or epirubicin (10 mg/body) or pirarubicin (10 mg/body) in a ten-minute period every week (for the first 8 weeks) or every two weeks (after the 8th week). Fifty patients were objectively evaluated and the response rate was 80%. The overall survival rate in 54 patients at 1, 3, 5 and 8 years was 83.7%, 61.2%, 52.6%, and 52.6%. The 1-, 2-, 3-, 5- and 7-year disease free survival rate in evaluable 22 patients who showed a complete response (CR) was 91.8%, 85.2%, 65.6%, 58.3% and 58.3%. No serious side effects, such as severe myelosuppression or renal and/or liver dysfunction, were noted during treatment. These findings suggest that intermittent arterial chemotherapy with an implanted reservoir is clinically useful. This procedure appears safe and is easily performed in the outpatient clinic for the treatment of locally advanced bladder cancer.