The superselective and the selective one shot methods for treating inoperable cancer of the liver

Abstract

Forty-five patients with inoperable cancer of the liver were treated by the one shot administration of 15–40 mg of Mitomycin C into the hepatic artery, either by the superselective or by the selective one shot method. Fourteen of the patients had primary cancers of the liver, and 31 had metastases to the liver from primary cancers of the stomach, or from the colorectal or other organs. Subjective symptoms improved in 73%, and objective signs improved in 60%. Nineteen patients who received this treatment more than twice showed a mean survival time of 10 months and a 50% survival time of 7.8 months. Therapeutic effects of the selective one shot method were recognized mostly in patients with tumors which were rich in vessels. However, a fairly good result was obtained using the superselective one shot method, even in patients with tumors having relatively few vessels.