[Comparative study on the comparative efficacy of hepatic arterial or portal venous infusion of adriamycin to control hepatic carcinoma growth].

To compare the efficacy of intrahepatic arterial and intraportal venous infusions of anticancer drugs, the following two experiments were performed. 1. Adriamycin (3 mg kg) aqueous solution (ADR) was administered into hepatic artery (HA group) and portal vein (PV group) of a rabbit with 2 cm diameter VX2 liver tumor. The ADR levels of the tumor tended to be about 3-fold higher in HA than in PV group (p less than 0.1) one hour after ADR infusion. No significant difference was seen in the ADR levels of liver, heart, kidney, and bone marrow between the two groups. The ADR concentration ratio of tumor to liver was significantly higher in HA group than in PV group. 2. VX2 tumor cells (1 x 10(7) cells) were transplanted through the portal vein of the rabbit. ADR aqueous solution (1 mg/kg, 5 ml) was infused into the rabbit liver via HA and PV, at 3, 5, and 7 days after tumor inoculation. The rabbits were killed and the livers were excised 21 days after tumor implantation. The number of VX2 tumor nodules on the liver surface was less in HA group than in PV group. These results suggest that hepatic arterial infusion of anticancer drug is more useful to inhibit the growth of liver tumor than portal venous infusion.