Regional hepatic chemotherapy using an implantable drug infusion pump

Regional infusion of chemotherapeutic agents in the treatment of liver cancer can greatly increase tumor exposure to certain drugs. Exposure is 100 times greater with floxuridine, 6 times greater with mitomycin C, and 6 times greater with BCNU. The Model 400 Infusaid implantable, refillable drug infusion pump overcomes much of the discomfort and inconvenience associated with previously employed extracorporeal systems. Our experience with our first 50 patients has been presented herein. Forty-one patients had metastatic colorectal cancer, 3 primary cancers, and 6 other metastatic cancers. Eleven pumps and 11 catheters were implanted at laparotomy. Thirty-nine patients had their pumps integrated to angiographically placed catheters. In over 260 patient months there were no pump malfunctions and only one infection. There were no vascular complications in the patients with angiographically placed catheters. Chemotherapeutic programs included floxuridine, floxuridine and radiotherapy, or floxuridine with mitomycin C and BCNU. In 18 patients with evaluable metastatic colorectal cancer who received hepatic arterial combination chemotherapy, there were therapeutic responses in 13 and disease stabilization in 4. The pumps were well tolerated by patients. They offer a reasonable approach to long-term ambulatory regional hepatic chemotherapy.