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New chemotherapy for patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma: Pilot study of β‐interferon and doxorubicin one‐shot intra‐arterial chemotherapy
Author(s) -
Uyama Hirokazu,
Nagano Hiroaki,
Nakamura Hideji,
Murakami Takamichi,
Nakamura Hironobu,
Monden Morito,
Hayashi Norio
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
hepatology research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.123
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 1872-034X
pISSN - 1386-6346
DOI - 10.1111/j.1872-034x.2007.00158.x
Subject(s) - medicine , doxorubicin , hepatocellular carcinoma , chemotherapy , gastroenterology , progressive disease , oncology , urology , surgery
Background: Patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) need an effective treatment modality because of the poor prognosis of the disease. From an in vitro study, β‐interferon (IFN‐β) has been reported to enhance the antiproliferative effects of doxorubicin on HCC cell lines. In the present study, we investigated the therapeutic effects of combined IFN‐β and doxorubicin intra‐arterial injection therapy on patients with advanced HCC. Methods: IFN‐β (3 MIU) and doxorubicin (10 mg/bodyweight) were given by one‐shot intra‐arterial injection through an arterial port to patients with advanced HCC. One treatment course consisted of three intra‐arterial injections per week for 4 weeks. Three courses were conducted and evaluation was done monthly. Results: Eleven patients with advanced HCC were treated with combined IFN‐β and doxorubicin. One patient enteredcomplete remission (CR), seven patients were evaluated as having stable disease (SD) and three as having progressive disease (PD). The mean overall survival was 10 months. The mean survival for CR and SD patients was 15 months, and that for PD patients was 6 months ( P = 0.0464, log–rank test). Decrease of serum total bilirubin was observed for all patients. Conclusion: Combined IFN‐β and doxorubicin intra‐arterial therapy offers an effective chemotherapy option for patients with advanced HCC by improving liver function and having tolerable side‐effects.