Chemotherapy of breast cancer by regional intra-arterial infusion

Over a 7-year period (1961-1968), 129 patients with metastatic breast cancer were treated by the continuous intra-arterial infusion of selected antineoplastic agents into dominant regional tumor-bearing areas utilizing a percutaneous needle technique for catheter placement. With few exceptions, all patients had received prior surgery and/or radiation therapy. Fifty-four (41.8%) of the 129 patients obtained an objective response of from 6 to 49 months' duration, averaging 14.7 months with a mean survival time of 20.7 months as compared to 5.7 months for the nonresponders. Fluorouracil, cyclophosphamide, vinblastine, and methotrexate were the agents administered singly or in combination. Prednisolone (orally) was concurrently administered. A total of 410 infusions were administered with a major complication rate of 0.9% and a minor complication rate of 8.9%. This simplified procedure for intraarterial infusion chemotherapy has produced clinically significant results.