Further clinical studies with intrahepatic arterial infusion with 5-fluorouracil

A total of 419 patients with progressive liver disease, in nearly all cases metastatic from gastrointestinal primaries, were treated by intrahepatic arterial infusion with 5-FU. Three-fourths of these patients had had prior trials with intravenous 5-FU for 1 or 2 months to several years and had been switched to the infusion upon the development of progression. Catheters were placed percutaneously and the patients infused with 5-FU at a dose of 20 to 30 mg/kg/day X 4, then 15 mg/kg/day X 17, at which point the catheter was removed and the patient sent home on weekly i.v. doses at 15 mg/kg. Toxicity, morbidity, and mortality were minimal with the intrahepatic arterial infusion treatment and the rigid criteria of improvement were met by 55% of the study cases. The survival rate of those patients who responded to the treatment was greater than the survival rate of those who failed to respond.