[Effect of preoperative intra-arterial infusion of adriamycin on locally advanced breast cancer].

The effect of adriamycin (ADM) infused intraarterially as a preoperative procedure was analyzed retrospectively in 15 patients with primary advanced breast cancer. A high clinical response rate (CR+ PR) of 73% (11/15) was obtained by the treatment, and also remarkable degenerative changes of tumor cells were histologically noted in 10 out of 15 surgical specimens (67%). A correlation between the dose of ADM infused and the rate of tumor regression was observed. A significantly higher concentration of ADM was detected in metastatic lymph nodes and tumors obtained 3-4 weeks after intra-arterial infusion of ADM than that in normal mammary gland. As for side effects, alopecia, leukocytopenia, anorexia, nausea and vomiting occurred at high frequencies. The side effects due to this treatment were considered to be tolerable. Prognostically, a good survival rate was not observed using preoperative treatment with intra-arterial ADM infusion.