Es. Klein et al., TOTAL ABDOMINAL PERFUSION (TAP) IN THE TREATMENT OF ABDOMINAL METASTATIC MELANOMA, Journal of surgical oncology, 57(2), 1994, pp. 134-137
Total abdominal perfusion (TAP) is a recently described technique in w
hich the abdominal organs are isolated from the systemic circulation a
nd perfused by means of an external pump. Administering chemotherapy i
nto the circuit provides higher locoregional drug exposure with lower
systemic toxicity. Two patients with melanoma metastatic to the abdome
n were treated using this technique. The first patient suffered from i
ntractable upper gastrointestinal bleeding due to unresectable melanom
a metastasis of the duodenum. He underwent TAP with melphalan and cisp
latinum. His bleeding stopped and the tumor regressed. This patient's
response lasted for 6 months. The second patient had an unresectable l
iver metastasis. She underwent TAP with melphalan and DTIC, resulting
in a complete response with disappearance of the liver mass, which las
ted until her death in 13 months. Our conclusion is that TAP should be
considered as a technique for regional chemotherapy, which may be use
d in the treatment of unresectable metastatic melanoma of the abdomen.
(C) 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.