Chemofiltration and chemoembolization: new techniques in advanced pelvic bone malignancies. Case report on three...

The survival time and the quality of life in patients with advanced pelvic bone malignancies are still challenges for oncologists. In order to ameliorate the poor results that surgery and chemotherapy can routinely offer, we developed new loco-regional approaches like intra-arterial chemotherapy, alone or combined with chemofiltration of venous return, and chemoembolization. Chemofiltration makes it possible to cut off the high systemic drug peaks by filtering the venous drainage of a body area arterially infused. Chemoembolization causes a reduction of blood flow and therefore a prolongation of the transit time through the neoplasm vascular bed; this will increase the contact time between the drugs and the tumor cells. Three patients were treated with our loco-regional treatments and the results are reported below.