Control of metastatic lymph nodes, especially enlarged nodes with adhesion, is extremely difficult. We treated metastatic lymph nodes with adhesion by intranodal injection (INI) of anticancer agents and obtained prolonged control of metastasis. Sixteen patients with a total of 23 metastatic lymph nodes with adhesion that were not indicated for surgical removal were studied. INI of peplomycin (14.0±10.4mg), CDDP (10.0±0mg), CBDCA (60.0±37.3mg), methotrexate (28.5±27.1mg), and 5-FU (311.1±194.9mg) was given to all, 1, 10, 7, and 8 patients, respectively. External radiation with cobalt 60 (2Gy/time, 42.8±9.7Gy) was given to all but 3 patients. The results obtained were as follows:
1. Except for one patient in whom the therapeutic respones could not be evaluated, all subjects had remission of swollen lymph nodes. The remission rates ranged from 99.6% to 14.3%(average, 51.3±27.8%).
2. In three patients, metastatic lymph nodes became small enough to be surgically removed without recurrence. Of the remaining 13 patients, 11 had no re-enlargement for at least 3 months after the end of INI.
3. Three patients are still alive (observation periods, 57, 6, and 6 months). Eleven patients died of uncontrolled primary lesions, distant metastases, or metastatic lymph nodes despite treatment with INI and radiation. The remaining two patients died of cardiovascular disease and pneumonia.
4. Of the 13 patients who died, 6 (37.5% of all patients) survived for 10 months or more from the start of INI, and the remaining 7 survived for about 5 months. The mean duration of survival was 11.8±13.9 months. Finally, INI controlled metastatic lymph nodes although the therapeutic response was unclear in one patient and could not be evaluated in another.
In conclusion, INI is an useful treatment for large metastatic lymph nodes that adhere to surrounding tissue and cannot undergo lymphectomy.
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