K. Sugimoto et al., Complications following balloon-occluded arterial infusion chemotherapy for pelvic malignancies, CARDIO IN R, 22(6), 1999, pp. 481-485
Purpose: To evaluate the incidence and causes of complications associated w
ith balloon-occluded arterial infusion chemotherapy (BOAI) for pelvic malig
nancies.
Methods: In 34 courses of BOAI in 22 patients with pelvic malignancies, we
analyzed the incidence of complications as well as the effect of the dose o
f the anticancer drugs, the infusion site, and the number of BOAI administr
ations on these complications. Complications were divided into two categori
es: cystitis-like symptoms and neurological complications such as pain, num
bness, and paresthesia of the lower extremities and the hip.
Results: Eleven patients (50%) suffered from complications, seven (31.8%) f
rom neurological complications and four (18.2%) from cystitis-like symptoms
. The complications appeared in 14 courses (42.4%) of BOAI, neurological co
mplications in 10 (30.3%) and cystitis-like symptoms in four (12.1%). A hig
h dose of anti-cancer drugs and infusion from the anterior division tended
to induce neurological complications more frequently; however, the cystitis
-like symptoms were not related to any factors.
Conclusion: Our results indicate that a smaller dose of anticancer drugs sh
ould be infused from the bilateral internal iliac arteries for safer pelvic
BOAI.