TREATMENT OF ADVANCED PANCREATIC-CANCER WITH REGIONAL CHEMOTHERAPY PLUS HEMOFILTRATION

Since 1989, 32 patients with advanced, inoperable pancreatic cancer, were treated with regional chemotherapy in combination with extracorporeal hemofiltration. Eleven patients presented to diagnosis with locally advanced, inoperable cancer; and ten, in addition to their primary, had liver metastases. Three patients had recurrent liver metastases following a curative Whipple procedure. One patient had an incomplete resection with local residual disease, and a second had recurred locally following a curative resection. One patient came to diagnosis with an unresectable cystadenocarcinoma. Five patients had failed prior chemoradiotherapy and/or immunotherapy. The patients underwent 83 cycles of regional chemotherapy plus hemofiltration, an average of 2.6 treatments per patient. Amongst 21 patients treated primarily with regional chemotherapy plus hemofiltration, two patients had complete responses (9%) and eight had partial responses (38%)-an overall total response rate of 47%. The average survival for patients with Stage II/III localized, inoperable disease is 13 months and that for Stage IV disease with only liver metastases is 9 months. Patients with recurrent disease following a curative procedure or having failed prior systemic therapies had little response from regional chemotherapy plus hemofiltration. (C) 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.