Intra-arterial injection therapy of mitoxantrone for locally advanced breast cancer
Ichikawa, W.; Osanai, T.; Shimizu, C.; Uetake, H.; Iida, S.; Yamashita, T.; Nishi, N.; Togo, S.; Miyanaga, T.; Nihei, Z.; Sugihara, K.
Gan to Kagaku Ryoho. Cancer and ChemoTherapy 25(9): 1333-1335
1998
ISSN/ISBN: 0385-0684 PMID: 9703821 Document Number: 495825
Mitoxantrone (MIT) is a new anthraquinone anticancer agent. We treated 14 patients with locally advanced breast cancer, 3 of which were inflammatory breast cancers, by pre-operative arterial injection of MIT. The treatment protocol was MIT 12 mg/m2 injected into both the internal mammary and the subclavian arteries with oral administration of 5'-DFUR 1,200 mg/day for 20 days. After 2 courses, all tumors were decreased over 50% in size. Down-staging was obtained in all of 8 cases. Mastectomy could be carried out on all patients, without microscopically residual tumor cells. Preoperative arterial injection of MIT might be the treatment of choice for locally advanced breast cancer to perform down-staging, however the survival benefit has remained equivocal. These preliminary results are encouraging to further studies.