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Medical Breakthroughs: Doctors using hepatic infusion pump to treat cancer

Medical Breakthroughs: Doctors using hepatic infusion pump to treat cancer
3 months 2 weeks 2 days ago Wednesday, August 21 2024 Aug 21, 2024 August 21, 2024 12:14 PM August 21, 2024 in News

Colon cancer often spreads to the liver, requiring pro-longed chemotherapy.

But doctors in Texas are turning to a different type of treatment that delivers chemo directly into the liver by using a hepatic infusion pump.

"There's a catheter that comes out from here and then goes directly into the liver," UT-Health San Antonio Oncology Surgeon Colin Court said.

It sends chemo directly to liver tumors caused by colorectal cancer.

"Patients with metastatic colorectal cancer, so stage-4 colorectal cancer, that's spread to the liver, up to 40 percent of them can be cured," Court said.

Nick Kincaid, an urban planner and new dad, was diagnosed at 37 and placed on traditional chemo by his physician.

"Definitely getting that initial diagnosis was very shocking," Kincaid said.

He stopped working, began regular chemo, and fatigue took over his life.

"It really does just change everything, even down to am I even able to walk my dog?" Kincaid said.

Faced with a lifetime of chemo, Kincaid is fortunate enough to work with Dr. Court, who shifted his treatment to HAI pump therapy.

"We place this into a small artery that comes off the hepatic artery that is the main blood supply to the liver, and it continuously infuses chemotherapy into that hepatic artery," Court said.

It provides 400 times the dosage, while causing minimal side effects.

"Having a doctor sort of look at it a bit differently and a see a pathway to a cure, and see other options for me, was very powerful," Kincaid said.

This FDA approved device remains in place for the length of the treatment and, the HAI pump is not available everywhere, so be sure to ask your doctor.

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