Thoracoscopic organ suffusion for regional lung chemotherapy (preliminary results)

After promising preclinical studies using a thoracoscopic regional lung chemotherapy technique less morbid than open perfusion methods, we initiated a Phase I clinical study.

Four performance status 0 to 1 patients with oligometastatic stage IV lung cancer underwent unilateral thoracoscopic lung suffusion targeting the bulk of primary disease and regional lymph nodes. We used the term suffusion (permeation of an organ) to describe the total lung distribution of chemotherapy afforded by venous distention akin to retrograde cardioplegia physiology. This was obtained by temporary thoracoscopic pulmonary vein occlusions and fluoroscopy-guided transfemoral intravascular balloon occlusion, drainage, and cisplatin distention of the main pulmonary artery. Single-lung ventilation allowed atelectasis that helped to drain the blood under pulmonary artery occlusion, then cisplatin (5% systemic dose) was instilled during venous occlusion and lung reexpansion. Chemotherapy dwelled for 30 minutes before lung reperfusion.

All four suffusions were successful (three right, one left). Cisplatin remained concentrated in the pulmonary circulation by the end of the dwell (1,124 versus 236 ng/mL systemic). There were no changes in the postsuffusion pulmonary function tests or lung perfusion scans. All patients were discharged early (24 to 48 hours) without chest tubes, began standard chemotherapy without delay, and completed follow-up. After two systemic chemotherapeutic cycles primary tumors had volume reductions of 96%, 88%, 64%, and 14%, with the latter showing a 100% volume increase in a nonsuffused osseous metastasis.

Our initial clinical experience of thoracoscopic lung suffusion suggests that this approach is safe and merits future study with higher dose levels.