[Our therapy concept in nonresectable liver metastases]

Cytotoxic chemotherapy was performed in a total of 18 patients (12 men, 6 women): 5 patients with colonic carcinoma and 1 patient with unknown primary lesion received 5 x 1000 mg 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) at 4 week interval. The 5 following patients primarily suffering from colonic carcinoma were treated with 0.5 mg/kg BW FUDR continuously at 2 week interval. 5 further patients with colonic carcinoma sequential received Mitomycin C (8 mg/m2) and 4 x 1000 mg 5-FU. 2 patients with breast cancer were treated with 500 mg/m2 Cyclophosphamide, the same amount of 5-FU and 40 mg/m2 Methotrexate every 4 weeks. Chemotherapy was well tolerated by all patients. A clinically significant response, however, was seen in only 2 patients with breast cancer. In 8 patients a liver transplantat was performed, which was followed in 3 cases by ultra-high dose Cyclosphosphamide, lethal total body irradiation and autologous bone marrow transplantation. 1 further patient received polychemotherapy. At the time of this analysis only 3 patients were still alive at 61, 30 and 26 months with only 1 perioperative death. All 3 had meanwhile developed recurrent or metastatic disease. Because of these sobering results, liver transplantation for the treatment of non-resectable liver metastases has been abandoned, and regional chemotherapy is now only applied in patients with liver metastases from breast cancer and after resection of metastases in an adjuvant setting.