Regional isolated perfusion of extremities for melanoma: A 20-year experience with drugs other than L-phenylalanine mustard

Recurrent melanoma of the extremities can lead to bulky symptomatic lesions that become difficult management problems. Treatment of these tumors with isolated limb perfusion with high dose chemotherapy may offer palliation in a number of patients. Unfortunately, the most commonly used drug, L- phenylalanine mustard, has been known to have significant associated tissue toxicity. Therefore, during the years 1976-1995, we perfused 67 limbs in 60 patients with various other drugs: 36 with dimethyltriazeno imidazole carboxamine, 6 with cisplatin, 20 with carboplatin, and 5 with thiotepa). Perfusion was performed for 16 upper extremities and 51 lower extremities using the pump oxygenator for 1 hour. Among the 60 patients, 17 were treated prophylactically for high-risk melanoma, whereas 43 were treated for local and in-transit recurrences. The technique of perfusion successfully isolated the limbs from the systemic circulation: the median leaks over time were 0.5- 1.6 percent for the upper extremities, and 0.2-7.5 percent for the lower extremities. Among the 13 patients treated with therapeutic isolated limb perfusion, 11 patients (26 percent) are alive with no evidence of disease for a median of 58 months (range: 8 months to 17 years 9 months), and another 5 patients (12 percent) are alive with recurrence for a median of 45 months (range; 27 months to 10 years 7 months). Four patients required two perfusions, and two patients required three perfusions (one patient has no evidence of disease 6 years after her third perfusion for recurring in- transit disease). There were 19 complications noted after 14 of the 67 perfusions (21%): postoperative edema, 5: seroma, 4; wound separation/infection, 9; and nonfatal pulmonary embolus, 1. In our experience, aggressive treatment in selected patients with regional isolated perfusion of limbs for melanoma has provided meaningful palliation and salvage of the limbs with adequate disease-free control, and occasional survival benefit. This regional treatment modality is associated with meaningful control and with few serious complications, especially when compared with studies using L-phenylalanine mustard. This series illustrates the safety of controlling limb recurrence with this technique, even with repeat perfusions in the same patient.