HAI Chemotherapy — SCE Medical Oncology MCQ
Instant feedback + full explanation. One question, done properly.
Educational content. Not a substitute for clinical judgement or local policy.
Reveal the answer and explanation
Correct answer: D — HAI exploits the hepatic arterial blood supply of liver metastases (vs portal venous supply of normal hepatocytes) to deliver high local drug concentrations with reduced systemic toxicity — it is used in specialised centres for liver-dominant disease unresponsive to systemic therapy
Hepatic arterial infusion (HAI) chemotherapy delivers drugs directly into the hepatic artery via an implanted pump. CRC liver metastases derive >80% of their blood supply from the hepatic artery (vs normal hepatocytes which derive >75% from the portal vein). This creates a pharmacological advantage: HAI floxuridine achieves 100-400× higher hepatic drug concentrations than systemic administration. Memorial Sloan Kettering data shows HAI + systemic chemotherapy improves outcomes in unresectable liver-dominant mCRC. HAI is available at select UK centres.
Reference: ESMO 2024 mCRC; Kemeny et al JCO 1999; D'Angelica et al Lancet Oncol 2015