Hepatic artery bolus infusion chemotherapy with mitomycin C. Angiographic results and complications.

Superselective catheterization of the hepatic artery and subsequent infusion of chemotherapeutic agents is an accepted treatment of inoperable hepatic neoplasms. In this article the results of 85 hepatic arterial infusions in 37 patients with biopsy-proven malignancies of the liver, treated in a period of 4 years, are described. Treatment consisted of a bolus injection of mitomycin C for a 10-min period. In 9 catheterizations (10.6%) a dissection of the hepatic artery occurred, followed by occlusion in 5 cases (5.8%). Gastric ulcers were seen in 2 patients, without evidence of displacement of the catheter. In 1 patient the catheter did displace leading to toxic gastritis, and subsequent pulmonary complications led to the patient's death. The response rate appeared to be 42% for colorectal cancer and 70% for breast cancer. The median duration of the response in colorectal cancer and breast cancer was 4 and 10 months, respectively.