[The Safety of Super-Selective Intra-Arterial Infusion Chemotherapy for Induction with Docetaxel, Cisplatin, and 5-Fluorouracil for Oral Cancer].

Adverse events and complications were retrospectively evaluated in 13 oral cancer patients receiving 3-drug, super-selective, intra-arterial infusion induction chemotherapy with docetaxel, cisplatin, and 5-fluorouracil (GroupA ), and another 13 patients receiving systemic chemotherapy (GroupB ). As a systemic adverse event, neutropenia was significantly milder in GroupA than in GroupB (p=0.043). However, among local adverse events, the incidence rates of oral mucous membrane disorders were 69.2% (9 patients) in GroupA and 23.1% (3 patients)in GroupB, and therefore significantly higher in Group A(p=0.021). No significant difference was observed between the two groups considering the time of onset of oral mucous membrane disorders. Among complications, there were no cerebral infarctions, but facial palsy occurred in 1 patient. Thus, in a comparison between adverse events associated with super-selective intra-arterial infusion induction chemotherapy for oral cancer and systemic chemotherapy, the former showed milder neutropenia and a trend toward milder systemic adverse events. However, the incidence rate of oral mucositis as a local adverse event was significantly higher. For super-selective intra-arterial infusion chemotherapy, it appears to be important to prevent oral mucositis and to control the risks of complications such as facial palsy and cerebral infarction.