[An effect of the intra-arterial infusion of angiotensin II in the chemotherapy of human hepatic cancer].

Changes in the distribution of hepatic arterial blood flow following the intra-arterial infusion of a vasoactive drug, angiotensin II (AT-II) were studied in human hepatic cancers using extremely short-lived RI (81mKr: half-life, 13 sec), with a view to applying the drug to intra-arterial chemotherapy. The arterial blood flow in the tumor region increased gradually after continuous AT-II infusion, and reached a peak at approximately 100 seconds, thereafter showing a gradual decreasing tendency. Blood flow in the non-tumor region decreased gradually and reached a minimum at about 100 seconds, subsequently showing a tendency to increase. As a result, the time course of arterial blood flow in both regions exhibited a good symmetry. The peripheral blood pressure rose to a value 1.5 times higher than the preinfusion value after 3 minutes, maintaining a constant value thereafter during the infusion of AT-II. In other words, the T/N ratio showed a peak before the peripheral blood pressure reached a plateau, and exhibited a tendency to decrease at that plateau. The difference in response between routes (intra-arterial and intravenous) of AT-II infusion was studied in 5 patients. The intra-arterial infusion of AT-II showed a much greater increase in tumor blood flow than intravenous infusion. It is considered that intra-arterial infusion chemotherapy with local use of AT-II improves the accessibility of chemotherapeutic drugs to tumors.