Regional chemotherapy with hemofiltration: a rationale for a different treatment approach to advanced pancreatic cancer

Abstract

Background/aims: Since 1989, thirty-two patients with advanced, intra-abdominal pancreatic cancer were treated with regional chemotherapy in combination with extracorporeal hemofiltration.

Patients and methods: Eleven patients had locally advanced, unresectable cancer, and ten had advanced disease with liver metastases. Three patients had developed liver metastases following a radical resection. One patient had an incomplete resection with local residual disease, and a second had developed a local recurrence after a radical resection. One patient had an unresectable cystadenocarcinoma. Five patients had failed prior systemic therapies for unresectable pancreatic cancer. The patients underwent 85 treatments with regional chemotherapy plus hemofiltration, an average of 2.7 treatments per patient.

Results: Of 21 patients treated primarily with regional chemotherapy plus hemofiltration, there were two complete responses (9%) and eight partial responses (38%), an overall total response rate of 47%. The average survival for patients with Stage II/III localized, unresectable disease is 13 months and that for Stage IV unresectable disease with liver metastases is 9 months.

Conclusions: Patients with recurrent disease following a radical resection or having failed prior systemic therapies generally had no benefit from regional chemotherapy plus hemofiltration.