Interventional Oncology

Treatment for liver cancer can vary depending on several factors. Before deciding on a course of action, a doctor will determine how far the cancer has spread, as well as its size and location. Based on this information, the appropriate course of treatment will be determined.

• Drug-Eluting Bead Embolization (also known as chemoembolization) provides targeted cancer treatment directly to the tumor while minimizing exposure to the rest of the body.
• Intra-arterial Yttrium-90 Radioembolization, known as Y-90, is a palliative treatment for patients with liver cancer that provides a higher dose of radiation compared to external therapies.

Chemoembolization is a minimally invasive treatment performed by an interventional radiologist. Using image guidance, a doctor delivers a chemotherapy agent and a blood vessel-blocking agent (embolic) through the blood vessel supplying the tumor to stop its blood supply and to deliver chemotherapy in the same setting. 

Healthy liver tissue can easily be damaged by radiation. Radioembolization provides targeted treatment only to tumors in the liver with little risk to the healthy tissue or surrounding organs.

Radioembolization is very similar to chemoembolization except that radioembolization delivers tiny radioactive microspheres directly into tumors through a catheter threaded into the liver’s hepatic artery via an anesthetized artery in the thigh. The microspheres contain the radioactive isotope, Y90, which become lodged inside the tumor and emit their radiation from within.

The radiation contained in Y90 has a short half-life – it is essentially gone in just over 2.5 days and carries no significant risk to others around the patient. While this can’t cure cancer, it can extend the patient’s life and offer a better quality of life without many of the side effects of other cancer treatments. Because radioembolization is done with only a small incision in the body, recovery is also faster and less painful than traditional treatments.

Compared with traditional cancer treatments, there are fewer side effects from this treatment. Typically, fatigue for seven to 10 days is experienced.

It is important to note that this therapy is a palliative therapy, not a curative treatment. While this can’t cure cancer, it can extend the patient’s life and offer a better quality of life without many of the side effects of other cancer treatments. Because radioembolization is done with only a small incision in the body, recovery is also faster and less painful than traditional treatments.

Cancers sensitive to radiation may be very effectively controlled with this therapy.