Intravenous Albumin infusions

Elevated tumor interstitial fluid pressure (TIFP) is a characteristic of most solid tumors. Clinically, TIFP may hamper the uptake of chemotherapeutic drugs into the tumor tissue reducing their therapeutic efficacy. In layman’s terms, the blood vessel in tumors are “leaky,” which caused fluid to seep out into the interstitium of the tumor. The pressure in the interstitium of the tumor builds up to the point where that pressure is greater than the pressure of the fluid/blood in the capillaries that supply the tumor. This increased interstitial pressure will limit the transfer of molecules, such as chemotherapy, from the blood to the tumor.

Albumin, is a substance that is naturally made by the liver, and increases the osmotic pressure within blood vessels. So if enough albumin is administered to the patient, it can raise the pressure in the capillaries, above the pressure in the tumor interstitium, allowing the transfer of molecules like chemotherapy to the tumor. At Advanced Medical Therapeutics, our patients receive intravenous albumin directly prior to their chemotherapy. Below is a link to a journal article that demonstrates the efficacy of this technique.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2713396/