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Evidence summaries

Portal Vein Chemotherapy in Colorectal Cancer

Portal vein infusion of 5-fluorouracil may produce an absolute improvement in 5-year survival of around 5%. Level of evidence: "C"

A systematic review 1 included 10 RCTs with a total of 3,499 subjects. Reduction in the annual odds or death was 13.6% (p=0.006), showing cytotoxic 5-fluorouracil-based portal vein infusion to be more effective than no further treatment after surgery. An absolute improvent in survival was 4.7%.

    References

    • Portal vein chemotherapy for colorectal cancer: a meta-analysis of 4000 patients in 10 studies. Liver Infusion Meta-analysis Group. J Natl Cancer Inst 1997 Apr 2;89(7):497-505. [PubMed]

Primary/Secondary Keywords