title: [Intra-arterial chemotherapy with gemcitabine (GEM) for unresectable pancreatic cancer].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Most patients with pancreatic cancer are unresectable because of local invasion and liver metastasis at the time of diagnosis. To date, no treatment has had a significant impact on this disease. To deliver a high concentration of drug to the cancer, intra-arterial chemotherapy with GEM was performed in two patients with unresectable advanced cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  One patient, a 70-year-old man with liver metastasis, was treated with arterial infusion of GEM 1,000 mg/body. Another patient, a 55-year-old woman with local invasion and distant metastatic lymphadenopathy, was given intra-arterial infusion of GEM 400 mg and intra-venous infusion of GEM 1,000 mg/body. The patients were given GEM weekly for 3 weeks followed by a week of rest.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the first patient, the pain went away and CEA was decreased for 6 months. After that, the patient died due to intra-abdominal dissemination within 4 months. In the other patient, the pain went away. Tumor markers, such as CEA and CA19-9, were normalized and primary pancreatic cancer was reduced locally. The patient currently has a metastatic liver tumor, but she has had a significant improvement in performance status.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Intra-arterial chemotherapy with GEM may be tolerated in patients with unresectable pancreatic cancer.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Surgery, Kurume School of Medicine.
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Horiuchi
authors.forename: Hiroto
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ishikawa
authors.forename: Mamoru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hiraki
authors.forename: Shinji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Uchida
authors.forename: Masafumi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yasunaga
authors.forename: Masaharu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ohdo
authors.forename: Tsuyoshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tamae
authors.forename: Shuichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fukuda
authors.forename: Masao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hara
authors.forename: Kohji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Okuda
authors.forename: Hisafumi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kinoshita
authors.forename: Shigeaki
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Aoyagi
authors.forename: Kazuo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shirouzu
authors.forename: Masamichi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Koganemaru
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000964:Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D003841:Deoxycytidine / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007261:Infusions, Intra-Arterial; D007262:Infusions, Intravenous; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000556:secondary; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D000093542:Gemcitabine
chemical_list: D000964:Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic; D003841:Deoxycytidine; D000093542:Gemcitabine