Final answer:
Intra-arterial chemotherapy delivers medication directly to the tumor, aiding in the treatment of micro-metastasis. It allows chemotherapeutic agents to concentrate on cancer cells, potentially reducing systemic side effects like anemia, but does not directly alleviate bone pain or prevent nausea and vomiting.
Step-by-step explanation:
Intra-arterial chemotherapy primarily benefits the patient by delivering higher concentrations of medication directly to the malignant tumor. An additional benefit of intra-arterial chemotherapy over systemic chemotherapy is the treatment of micro-metastasis. This method allows the chemotherapeutic agents to act on small clusters of cancer cells that have spread from the original tumor to nearby areas, increasing the likelihood of targeting cancer cells before they can grow into new tumors. It minimizes systemic exposure and, therefore, may reduce some side effects associated with chemotherapy, such as hair loss and gastrointestinal damage, although nausea and vomiting may still occur.
Since most chemotherapy drugs target rapidly dividing cells, healthy tissues with rapid cell turnover tend to be affected, which can lead to side effects like anemia. However, intra-arterial chemotherapy focuses the drug's effects on a particular area, potentially sparing other fast-dividing cells in the body and preventing therapy-induced anemia. This localized delivery doesn't typically contribute to the eradication of bone pain directly unless the affected area involves bone structures impacted by the tumor.