Chest wall implanted reservoir for bronchial arterial infusion of antineoplastic agents in high-aged lung cancer patients.

Arterial infusion therapy has been actively adopted to treat cancerous lesions in various clinical fields. In the past, a one-shot infusion via the bronchial artery has been used in lung cancer patients. In order to improve the patient's quality of life and enhance his/her response to chemotherapy, we have developed a chest wall implanted reservoir system for arterial infusion of antineoplastic agents via the bronchial artery. A slender catheter was inserted in a bronchial artery through the left subclavian artery (first case through the right femoral artery) in five patients over 75 years old with lung cancer. The reservoir was embedded in the chest wall (first case in the femoral region) and the antineoplastic agents were infused repeatedly on an outpatient basis. In two patients, accumulation of 99mTc-MAA in the primary lung tumor was confirmed by RI (radio-isotope) angiography. All patients could lead an active daily life during treatment. The results indicate that satisfactory therapeutic effects as well as an improvement of the patient's quality of life can be expected with this treatment modality, especially in case of the chest-wall reservoir with an indwelling catheter in the left subclavian artery.