Hepatic Arterial Infusion Chemotherapy

Patients with liver tumors that cannot be removed with surgery can be treated with hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy. The treatment works by directing chemotherapy directly to the liver (in normal chemotherapy, the drugs are put in the blood and carried to all of the body), where the drugs are then broken down. At UPMC Cancer Centers, hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy is given by the David C. Koch Regional Perfusion Cancer Therapy Center.

In hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy, a small pump loaded with chemotherapy drugs is surgically implanted in the abdomen. The pump is attached with a catheter (a thin tube) to the artery that takes blood into the liver. After surgery, the patient can then return to normal life while the chemotherapy is being pumped directly into the tumors in the liver. The chemotherapy drug runs through the tumors then is broken down in the liver, avoiding the side effects typically associated with chemotherapy.

Complete information on hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy is available on the Division of Surgical Oncology website.