Successful treatment for advanced cholangiocellular carcinoma with intrahepatic metastasis and/or portal vein tumor thrombi by intraarterial chemotherapy combined with 5-fluorouracil, adriamycin and cisplatin (FAP)--two cases report

The patients of unresectable cholangiocellular carcinoma (CCC) have extremely poor prognosis. Case 1 was a 72-year-old male who had CCC in the left lobe of liver with intrahepatic metastasis. From June 2003, he received hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy (FAP: 5-fluorouracil 250 mg/day continuous infusion, day 1-5, adriamycin 10 mg/day, day 1, and CDDP 10 mg/day, day 1). After 5 courses, abdominal CT revealed that the main tumor had regressed. Case 2 was a 66-year-old male who had CCC with portal vein tumor thrombus of anterior branch (Vp2). He received FAP arterial infusion chemotherapy that was a same regimen as with the case 1 patient. After 5 courses were administered, Abdominal CT revealed that the size of the main tumor at S8 had not changed, and that portal vein tumor thrombus had disappeared. In both cases, there was no complication related to the chemotherapy. They are alive for more than 1 year after chemotherapy had started. FAP hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy might be promising as an effective therapy for non-resectable CCC without extra hepatic metastasis.