Endocrine ablation and hepatic artery infusion in the treatment of metastases to the liver from carcinoma of the breast.
Seventy-one women with disseminated carcinoma of the breast metastatic to the liver were treated using one of three treatment regimens. All the patients received intravenously administered cytotoxic chemotherapy. Thirty-five women were treated with hepatic intra-arterial infusion of chemotherapy in combination with hormonal ablative procedures. Twenty-three patients were treated by hormonal ablation procedures without intra-arterial infusion. A third group of 11 women underwent hepatic artery infusion without hormonal ablative procedures. The women treated with both intra-arterial infusion and hormonal ablation had a mean survival time of 21 months from the documentation of hepatic metastases. The second group, those who underwent ablation but not infusion, had a mean survival time of 15 months from the documentation of hepatic involvement. Both of these figures compare favorably with the expected survival time of three to nine months. We believe that these results demonstrate the need for aggressive multimodality therapy in women with hepatic metastasis and further demonstrate the positive role of endocrine manipulation in metastatic carcinoma of the breast, even in patients with predominantly visceral disease.
D000315:Adrenalectomy; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000628:therapy; D002369:Castration; D004317:Doxorubicin / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004965:Estrogen Antagonists / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D005472:Fluorouracil / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006499:Hepatic Artery; D006801:Humans; D007261:Infusions, Intra-Arterial; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000556:secondary / Q000628:therapy*
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D004965:Estrogen Antagonists; D004317:Doxorubicin; D005472:Fluorouracil