Hepatic Artery Infusion (HAI) Pump

At Lehigh Valley Topper Cancer Institute, we are always working to find effective treatments for your cancer no matter how complex or rare it may be. This includes liver cancer. If your liver cancer has metastasized or cannot be removed surgically, the hepatic artery infusion (HAI) pump may be a treatment option for you.

The pump, which is about the size of a hockey puck, is surgically implanted on the abdominal wall. A catheter is sutured in, connecting the pump to the hepatic artery, the main vessel supplying blood to your liver. Delivering chemotherapy directly to your liver means higher concentrations of the drug are applied to the tumor, and side effects are minimized.

Who is a candidate for HAI?

You may benefit from the HAI pump, if you:

Have unresectable colorectal liver metastases. You may or may not still have your primary tumors in place. To be eligible for the hepatic artery infusion pump chemotherapy, you must have minimal other diseases outside of the liver and the primary tumor.
Have resectable colorectal liver metastases. In this case, you would be at a very high risk for recurrence in the liver. You may have disappearing lesions, multiple lesions, recurrent metastases after previous resection or ablation, or progressive disease despite first- or second-line chemotherapy.
Have unresectable intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. In this instance, your disease has not metastasized outside of the liver.