INTRA-ARTERIAL CHEMOTHERAPY TO DELIVER
SUPRA CONCENTRATIONS OF DRUG TO TUMOR

The term chemotherapy means to treat a disease or condition by using chemical agents. In treating large or multiple tumors chemotherapy is often used alone or in conjunction with resection.

Some tumors show little response to chemotherapeutic drugs that are given through the veins (intravenously). These drugs do tend to be effective, however, when they are delivered to the tumor directly, through the feeding artery. When chemotherapeutic drugs are delivered through an artery, the delivery is called intra-arterial.

Intra-arterial therapy allows specialists to give chemotherapy selectively -- to administer it at high concentrations to the tumor while sparing the non-cancerous parts of the body.

Procedure
Two to four hours before the procedure begins, a nurse inserts an intravenous tube into the patient’s arm to deliver fluids and a mild sedative. A radiologist typically administers intra-arterial chemotherapy in a vascular radiology suite. X-ray images guide the radiologist.

While the patient is under local anesthesia, the vascular radiologist places a catheter into the femoral artery, in the groin. The catheterization is painless, and the patient remains awake during the procedure. The radiologist advances the catheter into the feeding artery in the neck or brain and injects a dye into the catheter. The dye allows the radiologist to determine which branch of the artery brings blood to the tumor.

After determining which artery should receive the chemotherapeutic drug, the radiologist infuses the drug into the appropriate branch. The infusion takes from 30 to 60 minutes.

After the procedure, the patient typically remains in the hospital overnight, receiving hydration therapy or anti-emetics, as needed. Most patients return home the day after the procedure.

Chemotherapy may be repeated every four to eight weeks

• Carboplatin for recurrent high grade gliomas

• Cisplatin for squamous cell cancer of head and neck - high dose intra-arterial cisplatin to tumor with simultaneous intravenous sodium thiosulfate for systemic neutralization.

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