YES! Beat Liver Tumors

877-937-7478

© YES  http://www.beatlivertumors.org
Survivor Hotline: 1-877-937-7478 (US only);
info@beatlivertumors.org
The information presented in this Website is not intended as a substitute for medical care. Please talk with your healthcare provider about any information you get from this Website.

Percutaneous Hepatic Perfusion

What is Percutaneous Hepatic Perfusion (PHP)?

Physicians at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) are experimenting with Delcath Percutaneous Hepatic Perfusion (PHP), also known as Peripheral Hepatic Perfusion, in patients that have tumors primarily in their liver. A chemotherapy medicine called melphalan, which is approved by the FDA, has been used in the past to treat cancer in the liver with some success. This drug is normally given through an IV and has had some serious side effects. In order to decrease the side effects to the entire body, physicians have given melphalan directly into the blood vessels in the liver, which allowed for the delivery of very high doses of melphalan to the liver and less melphalan to the rest of the body. This direct treatment required surgery and thus the chemotherapy could only be given once.

Delcath PHP is a different method of giving chemotherapy directly to the liver without having a major operation. Special catheters are positioned in the blood vessels going into and out of the liver through small puncture holes in the skin and the melphalan is given through these catheters. A previous study (Phase I study) determined the safe dose of chemotherapy to use with the system. The current studies at the NCI are designed to see if this dose of melphalan using Delcath PHP is effective in treating and/or shrinking liver tumors, and looking at the number and severity of side effects using the system.

Delcath Percutaneous Hepatic Perfusion (PHP) is an experimental therapy.

Who may participate in this study?

Patients who have primary liver cancer, neuroendocrine liver tumors, or adenocarcinomas of the liver can seek enrollment in the phase II study. The phase III study, (NCI Featured Trial on page 8) is for patients with melanoma (cutaneous or uveal) that has metastasized to the liver. For more about patient participation please contact:


The NCI clinical hotline:
1-888-NCI-1937 Trial Ids NCT00096083 and NCT00324727