Distribution of arterial blood flow in human hepatic cancer during chemotherapy--examination by short-lived 81mKr
Sasaki, Y.; Imaoka, S.; Hasegawa, Y.; Nakano, S.; Ishikawa, O.; Ohigashi, H.; Taniguchi, K.; Koyama, H.; Iwanaga, T.; Terasawa, T.
Surgery 97(4): 409-414
1985
ISSN/ISBN: 0039-6060 PMID: 2984798 Document Number: 263891
Using the characteristics of short-lived radioisotope, 81mKr (half-life = 13 seconds), we studied the distribution of arterial blood flow of human hepatic cancers during intra-hepatic arterial chemotherapy. Sixteen patients with primary and metastatic cancer were catheterized into the hepatic artery during operation. 81mKr solution was continuously infused via the hepatic artery with the patient in the supine, upright, right-side down, and left-side down positions. The frontal and right-side images of the liver were taken with a scinticamera. The tumor/nontumor ratio of the hepatic arterial flow in the supine position was more than one in 14 of 15 patients. The patterns of arterial flow distribution of 81mKr in the four positions were compared. In 11 patients the tumor/nontumor ratio of one of the other positions was significantly higher than that of the supine position. We expect that this quantitative measurement will be a good indicator for evaluation of a drug's accessibility to the tumor in the first pass. Moreover, the choice of the most effective position for intra-arterial infusion chemotherapy by this test will be possible to increase the relative amount of drug reaching the tumor. This technique may be applicable mainly to short-term drug infusion.