Bone marrow shielding apparatus and method of bone marrow-shielded cancer chemotherapy

摘要

The invention provides a variety of bone marrow-shielding tourniquets and methods for using them to perform bone marrow-shielded chemotherapy with or without general and without the need to remove a patient's bone marrow for protection during the procedure. In the invention method, pressure is applied to at least one body part of the patient that contains myelopoietic bone marrow to temporarily occlude arterial flow to the bone marrow while blood circulation through the remainder of the body is maintained. Then an effective amount of at least one myelosuppresive chemotherapeutic agent is administered to the blood circulation in the remainder of the patient while the arterial flow through the at least one body part is occluded and so that the myelosuppresive effect of the agent is substantially dissipated within the maximum safe period for the occlusion of the arterial flow, or about three hours. The pressure is removed to restore blood circulation to the bone marrow when the effect has substantially dissipated and within the maximum safe period. By the invention method, a tumor located in the remainder of the body is treated by the at least one chemotherapeutic agent without destruction of a substantial portion of the bone marrow in the occluded body part. The bone marrow shielding tourniquets for use in the invention chemotherapeutic method are designed to substantially cover at least the shoulder or hip area of a human so as to occlude arterial flow therein and include inflatable bladders that apply the requisite pressure when the tourniquet is applied to the wearer. The shoulder tourniquet optionally is designed to occlude arterial flow into the proximal scapula as well as into the shoulder area. Bilateral tourniquets are also provided for simultaneous occlusion of bilateral shoulders and, optionally, bilateral scapulae.