title: Evaluation of newly developed combination therapy of intra-arterial 5-fluorouracil and systemic pegylated interferon alpha-2b for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma with portal venous invasion: preliminary results.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Prognosis is extremely poor for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with portal invasion. The present study evaluated the efficacy of combined intra-arterial 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and systemic pegylated interferon (PEG-IFN)alpha-2b in patients with advanced HCC.
  
  
  METHODS
  The subjects comprised nine HCC patients with portal vein thrombosis treated using subcutaneous administration of PEG-IFNalpha-2b (50-100 microg on day 1 of every week, for 4 weeks) and intra-arterial infusion of 5-FU (250 mg/day for 5 h on days 1-5 of every week, for 4 weeks). For four patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, oral administration of ribavirin (400-800 mg/day) was added. At the end of every cycle, response to therapy was assessed using Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) guidelines.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Partial response (PR) was observed in seven of nine patients, with stable or progressive disease in the remaining two patients. Tumors were resectable in three patients displaying PR after treatment. Tumor markers decreased significantly after therapy. Serum HCV-RNA titers were markedly decreased and became undetectable in all patients with HCV infection. National Cancer Institute-Common Toxicity Criteria: version 3.0 (NCI-CTC) grade 3 thrombocytopenia was seen in one case at the end of treatment, but was resolved with cessation of treatment. Other adverse effects were manageable.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Combination therapy with intra-arterial 5-FU and systemic PEG-IFNalpha-2b may be useful as a palliative treatment for patients with advanced HCC. A prospective controlled trial using a larger population of patients with advanced HCC is needed to evaluate this new combination therapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Iwate Medical University, Morioka, Iwate, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazuhiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kasai
authors.forename: Hidekatsu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kuroda
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ushio
authors.forename: Kei
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sawara
authors.forename: Yasuhiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Takikawa
authors.forename: Kazuyuki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Suzuki