[Warm drug solution injected into tumor vessel may enhance antitumor effect]

A study of hyperthermia was performed after injection of 0.5 mg/kg of MMC into feeding artery of Walker 256 implanted 4 days (early stage) or 8 days (advanced stage) earlier into the s.c. dorsum side of hindpaw of Wistar rats. The tumor growth curves on 6 days after treatment by warming tumor in hot water (44 degrees C) for 60 minutes were inhibited in advanced stage group which formed tumor vessels, but not in the early stage which had not still formed them. An intraarterial injection of warmed 0.01 to 0.05% Noradrenaline solution (44 degrees C, 10 ml) after chemotherapy (0.5 mg/kg of MMC a.i.), by which the temperature did not rise in the tumor tissue but rose to 40 degrees C for 5 to 10 minutes in the tumor vessels, showed severe cytotoxic damage in advanced stage group. The warming target of the tumor for hyperthermia can be considered to be the tumor vessels. Warmed 5% glucose using 0.1 mg of Noradrenaline (500 ml, 44 degrees C) injected into the tumor feeding artery after chemotherapy (2 to 6 mg of MMC or 250 mg of 5-FU a.i.) was tried in advanced cancer patients (liver tumor 4 cases, pancreas tumor 1 case, metastatic bone tumor 1 case, and multicentric tumor in liver, gall bladder and pancreas 3 cases). Efficacy was noted in 8 cases at the rate of 72.7% (8/11). It was concluded that warmed Noradrenaline solution delivered to the tumor vessels after chemotherapy for advanced cancer resulted in good efficacy rate as a from of chemo-thermotherapy.