Arterial infusion chemotherapy for advanced gallbladder cancer and liver metastasis

: Ten patients with advanced gallbladder cancer were treated by arterial infusion chemotherapy. Seven patients had unresected tumors, and three had liver metastasis after resection of primary tumor. The infusion catheter-port system was implanted via the femoral artery. 5-fluorouracil, mitomycin C and epirubicin were administered using implantable port. The response rate was 50% and the median survival time was 192 days. In one patient with good PR, a primary tumor was resected, and he survived for 2 years 7 months without recurrence. No severe side effect was found. Systemic chemotherapy using gemcitabine is well accepted, however arterial infusion chemotherapy will be one of the options when systemic chemotherapy is fails.