Early adjuvant intraportal chemotherapy after curative hepatectomy for colorectal liver metastases--a pilot study.

Abstract

A preliminary study was conducted with early and continuous intraportal adjuvant chemotherapy (IPAC) after a curative hepatectomy for colorectal metastases. The IPAC consisted of 14 days of 5-FU infusion at the rate of 600 mg/m2/d. The ultimate aim of this study was to reduce the frequency of recurrences in the remaining liver after curative hepatectomy. Twelve patients were included. IPAC was initiated in nine of them, while three technical failures occurred. The 14-day course with continuous 5-FU was given five times. The treatment had to be ceased prematurely because one medical and three mechanical complications occurred during the infusion. Pains and vomiting were frequent, but were usually the result of mechanical complications. No important hepatotoxicity or haematological toxicity was observed. This study shows that a full course of chemotherapy could be administered in only 40% of the patients. Further pilot studies with the aim of improving feasibility should be undertaken. If the mechanical problems are improved and IPAC duration is reduced, then feasibility should be dramatically increased. Subsequently, only a prospective randomized study would confirm the efficiency of the method in minimizing liver recurrence.