[The theory and practice of chemotherapy by arterial infusion--the importance of pharmacokinetic research].

Chemotherapy using arterial infusion was employed to introduce an anti-cancer drug directly into the arteries which nourish the tumor, thereby distributing a high concentration of the drug to the tumor, increasing the anti-tumor effect and reducing the amount of the drug in circulation throughout the body, thus mitigating its side effects. However, the uptake of the anti-cancer drug into the tumor and its distribution throughout the body are influenced by a large number of factors: the method or route of administering the anti-cancer drug; rate of infusion; local blood flow; permeability of the blood vessels; structure and affinity of the drug; the metabolism of the drug and the speed of its breakdown and elimination. As long as this kind of pharmacokinetics is involved, the principal merit of the arterial-infusion chemotherapy is that the first time the drug is circulated, a high concentration is distributed to the arteries which feed the tumor. However, there is a great deal as yet unknown about the peculiarities and variability of anti-cancer drugs and the internal organs.