Apudomas metastatic to the liver: treatment by hepatic artery embolization

Eighteen patients with various apudomas metastatic to the liver underwent hepatic artery embolization. In one group of 14 patients, hepatic artery embolization was the only antineoplastic therapy used during the study period. Three deaths occurred in this group. A partial remission of the hepatic metastases occurred in eight of the 11 living patients. In addition to hepatic artery embolization, a second group of four patients received concurrent hepatic artery infusions of chemotherapeutic agents. A partial remission occurred in three of these patients. Hepatic artery embolization may offer significant palliation for patients with apudomas metastatic to the liver by reducing the tumor bulk and thus decreasing the production of pharmacologically active substances secreted by functioning tumors. The impact of this treatment on the median survival time of patients with apudomas could not be demonstrated.