Hepatic Artery Infusion Pump Therapy in Unresectable and Resectable Liver Tumors

Hepatic artery infusion (HAI) chemotherapy is a regional, intra-arterial treatment of hepatic malignancies, delivering high-dose floxuridine directly to the liver. The rationale for HAI is based on the dominant blood supply of liver tumors from the hepatic arteries and near complete first-pass hepatic extraction of certain chemotherapeutic agents, which limits systemic toxicity. Although HAI chemotherapy is most commonly used among patients with colorectal liver metastases, it is now being more frequently employed for other disease processes such as intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma and hepatocellular carcinoma as well. In addition, HAI chemotherapy is most often used in the setting of unresectable hepatic malignancies.