SENSITIVITY OF HEPATOCELLULAR-CARCINOMA TO 9 ANTICANCER DRUGS IS UNCHANGED AFTER ADMINISTRATION OF EPIRUBICIN SUSPENDED IN LIPIODOL

Multidrug resistance is a major obstacle to the successful chemotherap y for human cancers. The chemosensitivities of hepatocellular carcinom a (HCC) treated with preoperative lipiodolization (LPD) to anticancer agents were compared to those without chemotherapy. Data on 22 patient s with HCC treated with LPD (epirubicin, 20-70 mg/m(2) and lipiodol, 0 .05-0.25 ml/kg) prior to hepatectomy (LPD group) and 77 with HCC treat ed by hepatic resection alone (control group) were compared. Chemosens itivities of resected tissues were tested by succinate dehydrogenase i nhibition (SDI) tests for nine anticancer agents, epirubicin, adriamyc in, mitomycin-C, cisplatin, carboquone, cyclophosphamide, 5-fluorourac il, etoposide, and vindesine. Among the anticancer agents studied, HCC was most sensitive (38% in the LPD group, 50% in the control) to cycl ophosphamide and least sensitive (0% in LPD group, 2% in the control) to etoposide. There was no statistically significant difference in che mosensitivity between the two groups. As HCC does not seem to acquire multidrug resistance after single LPD with epirubicin, repeated LPD wi th epirubicin can be considered.