— TAMPA, Fla. – AdventHealth Tampa is the first in the Tampa Bay area to offer a powerful new pump-based treatment option for colorectal cancer that has spread to the liver and for a rare form of cancer that forms in bile ducts within the liver called intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.
Hepatic Artery Infusion (HAI) therapy uses a pump that is implanted just below the skin in a patient’s abdominal wall to deliver medicine directly to the liver through the hepatic artery, maximizing drug delivery to the tumors without adding systemic side effects.
A team led by Dr. Iswanto Sucandy, a board-certified surgeon with dual fellowship training in Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, is now offering this advanced therapy to patients with these hard-to-treat cancers, which typically have poor prognoses.
"At the AdventHealth Digestive Health Institute Tampa, we are committed to providing the most advanced treatment options for complex liver cancers,” Dr. Sucandy said. “HAI therapy is a groundbreaking approach that allows us to directly target tumors in the liver while minimizing systemic side effects. By offering this leading-edge treatment, we are giving hope to patients who previously had very few options.”
On March 17, Dr. Sucandy performed the first HAI pump implant surgery in the Tampa Bay area, making AdventHealth Tampa one of only six hospitals in Florida offering this kind of care for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. AdventHealth Tampa is also the first in the state of Florida to use robotic placement for this pump. Robotic surgery is minimally invasive, with a faster recovery time, less scaring and minimizes the risks compared to laparoscopic placement.
This innovative procedure gives new hope to patients with aggressive liver cancer. Dr. Sucandy’s first HAI patient is only 41 years old with 15 metastatic tumors on their liver and the patient had been told surgical removal of the tumors wasn’t possible. The patient is now using the implantable chemotherapy pump, a treatment that can shrink those tumors, make them operable and be lifesaving for someone with this prognosis.
March is colon cancer awareness month and statistics show, colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer in the United States, with more than 150,000 new cases expected this year. It is now the leading cause of cancer death in men under 50 and the second leading cause in women under 50. Nearly 30% of patients with colorectal cancer will develop colorectal liver metastases (CRLM), tumors that spread to the liver.
Clinical studies show that hepatic arterial infusion (HAI) therapy can significantly reduce tumor size, enable surgical removal of previously inoperable tumors, and improve survival rates. Research also shows that HAI therapy following surgery can delay or prevent recurrence and extend overall survival.
“We are proud to support AdventHealth Tampa in expanding access to HAI therapy for patients who can benefit from it,” said Michael Gaisford, chief executive officer of Intera Oncology. “This innovative treatment, now offered at leading cancer centers, delivers continuous therapy to the entire liver, targeting both visible tumors and hidden micrometastases that drive high recurrence rates, all while allowing patients to maintain their daily activities.”