East Montgomery Times

Physicians at Fox Chase Cancer Center are now enrolling patients in a clinical trial investigating the use of a hepatic artery infusion (HAI) pump alongside standard chemotherapy. This trial is tailored for individuals with colorectal cancer that has metastasized to the liver and are ineligible for surgical treatment. Fox Chase is the only local institution to provide this particular trial.

The HAI pump is a chemotherapy delivery system that uses a catheter to directly deliver the drug floxuridine into the liver. Past studies on this method have suggested it could allow some patients to become candidates for surgery, previously deemed impossible.

“For many patients with colorectal cancer that has spread to the liver, surgery is not an option. For these patients, standard care is to treat them with chemotherapy indefinitely. In this trial, we look at the effectiveness of chemo alone but also compare it to this hepatic artery infusion pump used in conjunction with chemotherapy,” noted a Fox Chase principal investigator for the trial.

Although the Food and Drug Administration has approved the HAI pump for metastatic colorectal cancer, its usage is just beginning to rise in the United States. With expanding usage, trials like the one at Fox Chase are crucial for gathering data on its success and possibly enhancing patient treatment options.

“The trial gives patients three to six months of standard chemotherapy and then introduces the pump. Our hope is that we will see similar results in our randomized trial that we’ve seen in other individual studies. This way we can improve patients’ survival by getting them to the point where surgery may once again be an option,” said Dr. Wookey.

The open trial at Fox Chase, organized by the ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group, is backed by the National Cancer Institute as part of the National Clinical Trials Network. For more information on the trial and eligibility, interested parties can visit the Fox Chase website or call 215-214-1515.