Percutaneous Hepatic Perfusion (PHP) with Melphalan as a Treatment for Unresectable Metastases Confined to the Liver

Summary

In this manuscript, we describe percutaneous isolated hepatic perfusion with simultaneous chemofiltration as treatment for unresectable liver metastases. This procedure is performed under general anaesthesia in the angiosuite by an experienced team, consisting of an interventional radiologist, a clinical perfusionist and anaesthesiologist.

Abstract

Unresectable liver metastases of colorectal cancer can be treated with systemic chemotherapy, aiming to limit the disease, extend survival or turn unresectable metastases into resectable ones. Some patients however, suffer from side effects or progression under systemic treatment. For patients with metastasized uveal melanoma there are no standard systemic therapy options. For patients without extrahepatic disease, isolated liver perfusion (IHP) may enable local disease control with limited systemic side effects. Previously, this was performed during open surgery with satisfying results, but morbidity and mortality related to the open procedure, prohibited a widespread application. Therefore, percutaneous hepatic perfusion (PHP) with simultaneous chemofiltration was developed. Besides decreasing morbidity and mortality, this procedure can be repeated, hopefully leading to a higher response rate and improved survival (by local control of disease). During PHP, catheters are placed in the proper hepatic artery, to infuse the chemotherapeutic agent, and in the inferior caval vein to aspirate the chemosaturated blood returning through the hepatic veins. The caval vein catheter is a double balloon catheter that prohibits leakage into the systemic circulation. The blood returning from the hepatic veins is aspirated through the catheter fenestrations and then perfused through an extra-corporeal filtration system. After filtration, the blood is returned to the patient by a third catheter in the right internal jugular vein. During PHP a high dose of melphalan is infused into the liver, which is toxic and would lead to life threatening complications when administered systemically. Because of the significant hemodynamic instability resulting from the combination of caval vein occlusion and chemofiltration, hemodynamic monitoring and hemodynamic support is of paramount importance during this complex procedure.

Introduction

Resection of malignant liver tumors is the first choice of treatment for both primary and secondary hepatic malignancies. However, a large proportion of patients are not candidates for surgery because of extended disease or location of the metastases. For patients with unresectable metastases from colorectal carcinoma, systemic therapy is often the preferred treatment. Hepatic metastases from uveal melanoma are often small and diffusely spread throughout the liver. No standard systemic therapy is available for this group of patients. Local therapy can be an alternative to systemic treatment, in case the metastases are confined to the liver.

Protocol

Note: After a patient met all inclusion criteria and was carefully evaluated by a medical oncologist, surgeon and anaesthesiologist, a patient was included in the study. All patients provided written informed consent. Both clinical studies were approved by the Local Medical Ethics Committee of the Leiden University Medical Centre and are performed in accordance with the ethical standards of the Helsinki Declaration.

1. Pre-procedural Angiography by Interventional Radiologist

1. In preparation for the PHP procedure, perform a pre-procedural angiography²⁰ several days prior to PHP for arterial anatomy mapping. During this ....

Results

Knowledge about PHP is based on small phase I and II trials and case series and a recent larger phase trial III; an overview of published results is shown in Table 1. One paper discusses the anaesthesiology procedure, hemodynamic and metabolic aspects of the treatment. However, no survival data were reported.²² Three larger trials that were reported, included metastatic liver disease from different primary tumors and the results are therefore difficult to inter.......

Discussion

Patients with unresectable liver metastases can be treated with systemic therapy. However, for patients with metastatic uveal melanoma, no standard systemic therapy is available and immunotherapy or targeted therapy have not yet been able to show improved survival. Isolated hepatic perfusion has been shown to be an effective treatment for patients with unresectable uveal melanoma metastases confined to the liver.^9,28 For colorectal cancer metastases more therapeutic systemic options are available, but some pat.......

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
Delcath 2nd Generation Hepatic CHEMOSAT Delivery System	Delcath Systems Inc., New York, New York, USA	602001 and 602002	Item no. 1
Isofuse Isolation Aspiration Catheter (Double Balloon Catheter)	Delcath Systems Inc., New York, New York, USA		Item no. 1a
10F Venous Return Catheter	Delcath Systems Inc., New York, New York, USA
Hemofiltration Cartridges	Delcath Systems Inc., New York, New York, USA		Item no. 1b
Circuit components	Delcath Systems Inc., New York, New York, USA
Level-1 rapid fluid management system	Smiths Medical		Item no. 2
22 G arterial line	Arrow International Inc. /  Teleflex Inc.,Dublin, Ireland		Item no. 3
Vigileo, Monitor	Edwards Lifesciences Corp, Irvine, California, USA		Item no. 4
7.5F Triple lumen intravenous catheter, 20 cm	Vygon, Valkenswaard, Nederland		Item no. 5
5F sheath			Item no. 6
2.7 Progreat microcatheter	Terumo, Tokyo, Japan	MC-PP27131	Item no. 7
18F sheath			Item no. 8
Auto-injector Medrad Mark V ProVis	Bayer, Indianola, Pennsylvania, USA	Not available anymore, replaced by Medrad Mark 7 Arterion Injection System	Item no. 9
Melphalan	Alkeran, Aspen Pharmacare, Dublin, Ireland		Item no. 10
Heparin LEO, 5,000 IE/ml	LEO Pharma AB, Denmark		Item no. 11
Centrifugal pump	Medtronic, Minneapolis, Minnesota, VS		Item no. 12
Voluven colloid solution (6% hydroxyethyl starch 130/0.4 in 0.9% sodium chloride injection)		Item no. 13
Iopromide 300, Ultravist	Bayer, Indianola, Pennsylvania, USA		Item no. 14
Detachable coil, Interlock	Boston Scientific, Marlborough, Massachusetts, USA		Item no. 15
Vascular plug, Amplatzer 4	St. Jude Medical, St Paul,Minnesota, USA		Item no. 16