Main complications and results of treatment with intra-arterial infusion chemotherapy through the subclavian and thoracic arteries for locally advanced breast cancer

Intra-arterial infusion chemotherapy for locally advanced breast cancer (LABC) has been previously performed. However, the main complications of this type of chemotherapy remain to be clarified. In the present study, catheterization chemotherapy was carried out for 53 LABC cases (stage IIIa–IIIc) between May, 2006 and March, 2007. For IIIB and IIIC patients, the catheters were guided to the opening of the subclavian artery. For stage IIIa patients, the catheters were placed into the thoracic artery through a subcutaneous femoral artery puncture. One to four cycles of chemotherapy (mean, 1.6 cycles) were administered for the patients using taxotere, epidoxorubicin, 5-fluorouracil and/or cyclophosphamide. The interval time between the two cycles was 21 days. Seven cases were identified as complete response (CR, 13.2%), 41 cases were partial response (PR, 77.4%) with a rate of effectiveness of (CR + PR, 90.6%), 5 cases were stable disease (SD, 9.40%) and no case was progressive. Pain of the ipsilateral upper extremity was present in 7 cases. Two cases exhibited ipsilateral upper extremity atrophy following drug administration from the opening of the subclavian artery. One case experienced neck pain and headache, while in one case necrosis of local skin was evident. Hematological toxicity over grade 3 was observed in 6 cases (11.30%). Systemic toxicity was mild and did not affect the quality of life of the patients. Overall survival was identified as 18/51 (35.3%), and free-disease survival as 10/51 (19.6%). In conclusion, intra-arterial infusion chemotherapy is an effective local control treatment for LABC. The main complications are pain of the ipsilateral upper extremity and neck as well as headache. Severe complications are ipsilateral upper extremity atrophy and necrosis of local skin. During the treatment, controlling the pressure of the tourniquet and velocity of drug administration are crucial for reducing local complications.