Phase II study of weekly 24-hour intra-arterial high-dose infusion of 5-fluorouracil and folinic acid for liver metastases from colorectal carcinomas.

BACKGROUND

A multicenter phase II trial was initiated in order to evaluate the weekly, high-dose 24-hour infusion of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) plus folinic acid (FA) in patients with unresectable colorectal cancer hepatic metastases.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A weekly hepatic arterial infusion (HAI) of FA 500 mg/m2 followed by a 24-hour infusion of 5-FU 2,600 mg/m2 (later reduced to 2,200 mg/m2) was given via a surgically implanted intra-arterial port system. One treatment cycle consisted of six weekly applications followed by a two-week rest period. Toxicity was assessed according to the WHO criteria. Chemotherapy was continued until disease progression or complete response occurred.

RESULTS

A total of 50 patients (40 chemonaive, 10 pre-treated) entered this trial. An objective tumor response occurred in 28 patients (56%), while 13 patients (26%) had stable disease. The median progression free survival was 12 months, and the median survival 22.3 months. Due to a high rate of gastrointestinal side-effects in the initial phase of the trial, the dosage of 5-FU was reduced to 2,200 mg/m2 for all subsequent patients. Diarrhea and nausea led to a dose reduction in 40% of applications and 24% of patients, respectively. One patient died of cardiac insufficiency unrelated to chemotherapy before response evaluation.

CONCLUSIONS

This HAI approach using high-dose 5-FU was relatively well tolerated when 2,200 mg/m2 instead of 2,600 mg/m2 was used. The activity of this regimen is promising and warrants further evaluation and modification.