CSSN: ISSN 1000-467X CODEN: AIZHENG4 CN: 44-1195/R

CJC is published 12 times a year.

Please note: CJC is published in English and Chinese. Manuscripts are published online prior to printing. The citation will change as volume, issue and page numbers are finalized.

Email this page

Print this page

Clinical Research Paper

Intra-Arterial Hepatic Bio-Chemotherapy for the Treatment of Melanoma Patients with Liver Metastasis: A Phase II Clinical Study

Chuan-Liang Cui, Zhi-Hong Chi, Xiang-Qing Yuan, Hong-Yun Lian, Lu Si and Jun Guo

volume 27 | issue 8

August 2008
Pages: 148 - 152

Purchase article for $19

Subscribe to this journal for $0/year

» Log in

Background and Objective: The therapeutic effect on melanoma metastasizing to liver is poor. Researches have demonstrated that hepatic intra-arterial bio-chemotherapy can improve the treatment efficacy of metastatic melanoma. This study was to investigate hepatic intra-arterial bio-chemotherapy for the treatment of patients with liver metastasis from melanoma. Methods: Twenty-one patients with liver metastasis from melanoma were treated with hepatic intra-arterial infusion of dacarbazine (250 mg/m2) from the first to the fifth day, and fotemustine (100 mg/m2) at the sixth and fourteenth day, followed by adoptive transfer of autologous cytokine-induced killer cells and administration of interleukin 2 and 150ug granulocyte/macrophage colony stimulating factor for 10-12 days. The overall treatment was repeated every 28 days. The overall survival, response and toxicity were analyzed. Results: Seventeen of twenty-one patients were valuable. One achieved complete remission (CR), one achieved partial remission (PR), six had stable disease (SD) and nine had progression disease (PD). The disease control rate was 47.06% (8/17), with a median progression free survival (PFS) of three months and a medium overall survival (OS) of six months. Treatment related complications were mainly myelosuppression (grade III-IV), occurring in 38.1% (8/21) patients. Conclusions: Hepatic intra-arterial chemotherapy can improve the disease control rate of progressive melanoma. It tends to prolong the PFS and OS with tolerable toxicity in patients with liver metastasis from melanoma.