[A case of locally advanced breast cancer successfully treated with intra-arterial infusion of high-dose epirubicin].

A 43-year-old female with locally advanced breast cancer was treated with preoperative intra-arterial infusion chemotherapy using an implantable port catheter. The therapeutic regimen was comprised of two cycles at 3-week intervals. One cycle consisted of 50 mg of epirubicin which was administered on day 1, 4 and 7. A remarkable loco-regional response was confirmed only after two repeated cycles of the regimen. The side effects such as hair loss, general fatigue and leukopenia (nadir 1,700) were encountered, but these were moderate and had no influence on the patient's quality of life. These findings suggested that intra-arterial infusion of high-dose epirubicin via an implantable system was an efficient modality for the treatment of breast cancer.