Abstract
The aim of this study was to investigate experimentally whether there is a superior effect of the combination of hepatic artery chemo-embolization with portal vein infusion over either of the two treatment modalities alone. Novikoff hepatoma cells transplanted under the liver capsule of Sprague Dawley rats were used as a model. Tumor growth was assessed at 7 and 21 days after tumor inoculation. The prolamine solution Ethibloc was employed for embolization, and 5-fluorouracil was used as a chemotherapeutic agent for both infusion and chemo-embolization. All arterial treatment modalities were administered in a super-selective manner. There was no intolerable toxicity after dosages of 55 to 125 mg 5-fluorouracil/kg body weight. With regard to therapeutic efficacy the results show that embolization is an effective therapeutic means for inducing tumor necrosis in selected liver areas. As a consequence, the ranking of all treatment modalities was based on the combined evaluation of tumor size and extent of tumor necrosis. According to this evaluation, hepatic artery chemo-embolization was superior to the respective type of infusion (P<0.01). In addition, the combination of both modalities in the form of hepatic artery chemo-embolization and portal vein infusion was effective in destroying more than 97% of vital tumor tissue (P<0.01). These results suggest the need for a comparative clinical study.
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Acknowledgements
This study was supported by a grant of the Deutsche Krebshilfe. The authors thank Prof. K. H. Schultheis for supporting this study and Prof. C. Gebhardt for valuable discussions.
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Bödeker, H., Kamphorst, EJ., Wünsch, P.H. et al. Superiority of combined chemo-embolization and portal infusion with 5-fluorouracil over locoregional infusion concepts in Novikoff hepatoma-bearing rats. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol 129, 655–661 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00432-003-0495-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00432-003-0495-x