Using a small, implanted "liver pump," your oncologist can deliver stronger doses of chemotherapy directly to the liver.
Hepatic arterial infusion is a type of “regional chemotherapy” that delivers chemotherapy directly to the liver so that the drugs don’t need to circulate throughout the body. This allows your physician to use higher doses of chemotherapy without the toxicity or side effects to the rest of your body. A small pump controls the chemotherapy delivery. This treatment is used primarily for colorectal cancer that has spread to the liver, and some bile duct cancers.
How does hepatic arterial infusion work?
A wireless metal pump about the size of a hockey puck is surgically placed inside the abdominal wall, and a small tube (catheter) is inserted into the blood vessel that connects to the hepatic artery, the major blood vessel that carries blood to the liver. The pump allows doctors to continuously deliver a powerful dose of chemotherapy straight to the liver and provide a liver-directed treatment option for patients with high-risk liver tumors who could not undergo surgery.
How a hepatic artery infusion pump helps
Hepatic artery infusion improves treatment for cancer in the liver.
Hepatic arterial infusion is used in combination with surgery and traditional chemotherapy. This treatment approach may help to reduce tumor size and is beneficial for patients in these situations:
- when the spread of cancer to the liver is too extensive and tumors are too complex to allow for immediate surgery.
- after surgery, to prevent any small remaining cancer cells from growing into tumors.
HAI significantly increases the number of long-term cancer survivors and increases the rate of cure.
Who can receive a liver pump?
Your care team may recommend this therapeutic approach if you have:
- Colorectal liver metastases that cannot be effectively treated with surgery.
- Minimal disease outside of the liver and primary tumor.
- A high risk for recurrence of your liver cancer.
- Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (cancer of the bile ducts that are located within the liver).
The Roswell Park Advantage
If you have been diagnosed with metastatic colorectal cancer that has spread to your liver, our specialists in liver metastases are experts in innovative treatments and therapies that can improve outcomes and potentially convert these tumors from unresectable to resectable.