A prognostic evaluation of hepatic arterial injection chemotherapy with cisplatin suspended in Lipiodol for hepatocellular carcinoma.

A method to prepare cisplatin suspended in Lipiodol(LPS) has been established in order to deliver cisplatin to hepatocellular carcinoma via the hepatic artery. Ninety-six patients, two stage I, 20 stage II, 30 stage III, and 44 stage IV, were treated with LPS therapy. In 34 patients whose serum alpha-fetoprotein(AFP)levels were greater than 400 ng/ml, the serum AFP levels decreased in 31 patients(91.2%). The plasma des-γ-carboxy prothrombin(DCP)levels decreased in all of the 26 DCP-positive patients. The 1-year survival rate was estimated to be 60.4% and the 2-year survival rate was 42.7%. The patients treated with LPS therapy survived longer compared with patients given SMANCS-Lipiodol via the hepatic artery. The platinum concentrations in the tumor tissues were 23.3 times higher in seven operated cases and seven autopsy cases than those in the nontumorous tissues. This result suggests that LPS selectively accumu-lates in the tumor tissue, is long-lasting and gradu-ally releases the drug. LPS therapy is safe and effective as a new anti-cancer therapy for he-patocellular carcinoma.