In a nutshell
This study looked at the safety and effectiveness of repeated limb perfusion with anti-cancer drugs for patients with melanoma work. The study found that repeated limb perfusion is safe, and has a similar rate of success to the first time the limb was perfused.
Some background
Isolated limb perfusion (ILP) is a technique used to deliver anti-cancer drugs directly to the body part where the cancer is. This type of treatment can be done many times. It works very well for melanoma cancer which is in the process of spreading through a limb. However, it is not known how the patients respond, and if there are any side effects when it is done multiple times.
Methods & findings
This study consisted of 290 patients. All of these patients had melanoma that was spreading through the body to their limbs. All of these patients had ILP at least once. 68 patients had ILP twice. 16 patients had ILP three times. 4 patients had ILP four times, and two patients had ILP five times. The response was compared for each ILP treatment.
The first ILP treatment had a response by 83% of patients. The second ILP treatment had a response by 80% of patients. The third, four and fifth ILP treatments had a response by 68% of patients. Some patients completely responded, and the cancer went away entirely. This happened in 60% of patients who had ILP the first time. This happened to 41% of patients who had ILP a second time. This happened to 59% of patients who had ILP a third, fourth, or fifth time. There was no increased risk of complications or side effects in the patients who had ILP more than once. Redoing ILP worked best in patients who had a complete response the first time they did ILP.
The bottom line
The study concluded that repeating ILP treatment is effective, and does not have an increased risk of side effects or complications.
The fine print
This is a medium sized study.
What’s next?
Discuss your treatment plan with your oncologist.
Published By :
Annals of Surgical Oncology
Date :
Jan 07, 2019
