[Usefulness of hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy for liver metastasis in gastric cancer].
We have performed intra-hepatic arterial chemotherapy for 9 patients with liver metastasis arising from gastric cancer. We mainly used 5-FU and CDDP as antineoplastic drugs.


RESULTS
The median survival after gastrectomy was 600 days. Of 9 cases, 2 showed CR, 4 PR, 2 NC, 1 PD. The response rate was 67%. The 9 cases were classified into 2 groups. One group, the short-term survival group, concised of 5 patients that had no more than 2 years survival and the other, the long-term survival group, consisted 4 patients that had more than 2 years survival. We compared these 2 groups and found no difference in the primary lesions between the 2 groups. The patients in the long-term survival group had fewer and smaller metastatic lesions in the liver than the patients of the short-term survival group. The patients in the long-term survival group had no unresectable lesions except liver metastasis when gastrectomy was performed. However, 2 patients in the short term survival group had unresectable lymphatic involvement at the time gastrectomy was performed. Of 9 patients, 6 died from the extrahepatic lesion.


CONCLUSIONS
The intra-arterial chemotherapy was effective and useful for liver metastasis arising from gastric cancer. However, the majority of patients died from extrahepatic lesions. We should therefore consider the use of systemic chemotherapy with intra-arterial chemotherapy.
Takahashi
H
H
Dept. of Surgery, NTT West Osaka Hospital.
Tono
T
T
Tamagaki
S
S
Yasue
A
A
Okada
K
K
Kano
T
T
Iwazawa
T
T
Matsui
S
S
Nakano
Y
Y
Yano
H
H
Kinuta
M
M
Matsushita
M
M
Okamura
J
J
Monden
T
T
D000368:Aged; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002945:Cisplatin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005260:Female; D005472:Fluorouracil / Q000008:administration & dosage; D006499:Hepatic Artery; D006801:Humans; D015918:Infusion Pumps, Implantable; D007261:Infusions, Intra-Arterial; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality / Q000556:secondary*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D015996:Survival Rate
D002945:Cisplatin; D005472:Fluorouracil