Pilot study of hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy with gemcitabine and 5-fluorouracil for patients with postoperative liver metastases from pancreatic cancer

Hepatic metastasis is a common cause of treatment failure after curative resection of pancreatic cancer. We report a pilot study of hepatic arterial infusion (HAI) chemotherapy with gemcitabine and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) for postoperative liver metastases from pancreatic cancer. Five patients who had undergone curative resection of liver metastases from pancreatic cancer received HAI of gemcitabine and 5-FU between October 2008 and September 2010 at Kanazawa University Hospital. Gemcitabine at a dose of 800 mg was infused over 30 min via a bedside pump. After gemcitabine administration, 250 mg of 5-FU was infused continuously over 24 h on days 1-5, comprising one cycle of therapy. These treatment cycles were continued biweekly. In the evaluation according to RECIST criteria, a partial response was obtained in 2 of the 5 cases, with stable disease being achieved in the remaining 3 cases (response rate, 100%). In 4 of the 5 cases, a decrease in serum tumor marker CA19-9 was observed after 10 HAI treatment cycles. The median time to treatment failure was 10 months (range 3-17). As to adverse events, leukocytopenia was grade 3 in 1 of 4 affected cases and all 5 were anemic, although 4 of the 5 cases had anemia prior to HAI therapy. Grade 2 thrombocytopenia was observed in 2 cases. No nonhematologic events, such as nausea, diarrhea, liver injury and neuropathy, occurred. There were no life-threatening toxicities, but 4 cases (80%) developed catheter complications, and the HAI catheter and subcutaneous implantable port system had to be removed. HAI delivers high doses of chemotherapeutic agents directly into tumor vessels, producing increased regional levels with greater efficacy and a lower incidence/severity of systemic side effects. In conclusion, HAI chemotherapy is useful and safe for the treatment of malignancies confined to the liver.