Effective eradication of oral verrucous carcinoma with continuous intraarterial infusion chemotherapy.

BACKGROUND: We evaluated the effectiveness of intraarterial methotrexate infusion as a primary therapy for oral verrucous carcinoma (VC).

METHODS: Fifteen male patients (mean age, 55 years) were included. By using an implantable port-catheter system and a portable pump, methotrexate was continuously infused to the external carotid artery for a mean period of 7.5 days (50 mg/day), followed by weekly bolus of methotrexate (25 mg) via intraarterial route for a mean period of 10 weeks.

RESULTS: The tumor regressed dramatically and disappeared completely after treatment within a mean period of 2.5 months. All patients obtained complete remission and recovered without disfigurement. All patients were alive without disease recurrence at a median follow-up of 43 months. The side effects were tolerable.

CONCLUSIONS: The results of our treatment modality for oral VC appear to compete favorably with the results of surgical series and even more with those of radiotherapy series.