Remission and survival following monthly intraarterial cisplatinum in nonresectable hepatoma.

Precis: Intraarterial delivery of 50 mg/m2 cisplatinum on a monthly basis is a well-tolerated regimen for patients with nonresectable hepatoma. The selective uptake of cisplatinum delivered intraarterially suggests other selective intraarterial protocols would be of use in regional cancers treated with cisplatinum.Background: Sixty-seven patients with nonresectable hepatoma were treated with hepatic artery infusions (HAI) of 50 mg/m2 cisplatinum on a monthly basis.Methods: Forty-eight patients received an initial course of whole liver external radiation with intravenous (IV) cisplatinum 50 mg/m2. Nineteen patients did not receive radiation and received HAI cisplatinum only. All patients then received HAI cisplatinum at 50 mg/m2 on a monthly basis. Six patients were given a tracer dose of radioactive 195mcisplatinum for quantitation by the HAI and IV routes.Results: Monthly HAI cisplatinum was well tolerated and could be repeated indefinitely. Median survival for primarily treated nonresectable hepatomas w...