Minimally invasive treatment of patients with liver cancer

Surgical removal of liver tumors offers the best chance for a cure. Unfortunately, liver tumors are often too large or striking large blood vessels and other vital structures. It makes surgery too risky or impractical. Surgical removal of impossible to have more than 30-40% of patients and in 90% of patients with secondary liver cancer.

Historically, that medicinal drugs are ineffective in the treatment of liver cancer. Therefore, there are a number of methods to combat this disease.

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Primary liver cancer: the Most common form of primary cancer is hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This is a tumor that starts in the main liver cells. Primary liver cancer is twice more common in men than in women. HCC occurs more often in those who are ill with cirrhosis of the liver.

Metastatic liver cancer: Cancer can be transmitted from any part of the body to the liver. There the cancer cells can grow for several months or years before they are discovered. Liver Metastases often in tumors of the colon and rectum. Patients with other types of cancer are also at risk of developing liver cancer.

The Liver acts as a starting station for cancer cells circulating in the bloodstream. These cells can grow and form a tumor. It is believed that 70% of all patients with uncontrolled cancer get eventually a secondary tumor of the liver, or metastases (tumors formed by primary cancer cells that have spread from other cancer sites).

Diagnostics

There are a number of tests that can help diagnose cancer, including blood tests, physical examination and various imaging techniques including x-ray, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ultrasound.

Usually, a definitive diagnosis cannot be made until until made biopsy. Examining a biopsy sample, experts can determine what kind of cancer is present and how quickly it can spread. This information is important when deciding on the type of treatment.

Treatment 

Tumors need a blood supply to it actively generate, to feed themselves and grow. Radiologists, together with specialists in the field of vascular surgery deliver targeted drugs introduced into blood vessels through a catheter throughout the body.

In the treatment of cancer patients, radiologists can attack the tumor affecting her with embolization and radio waves. Embolization is a well developed method of interventional radiology, which is used to treat the injured with massive bleeding, control bleeding after childbirth, reduce blood loss before surgery and to treat tumors.

In the treatment of cancer patients, embolization used to reduce blood flow to the tumor, deliver radiation (radioembolization), or combine this technique with chemotherapy to deliver the cancer drug directly to the tumor (chemoembolization).

In addition, cancer cells are killed by thermal methods (radiofrequency ablation) or freezing the tumor (cryoablation).

Chemoembolization

Chemoembolization is a minimally invasive treatment of liver cancer, which can be used alone or in combination with other treatments. Chemoembolization provides an introduction high doses of chemoembolization directly into the body, depriving the tumor of its blood supply by blocking, or embolizing the arteries feeding the tumor. Using the scan as a guide, the interventional radiologist injects tiny catheter into the femoral artery. There is a large dose, as a procedure to selectively and, accordingly, less of the drug circulates in the healthy cells of the body. Chemoembolization usually involves a hospital stay of two to four days. Patients can usually return to a normal lifestyle within a month.

Chemoembolization is extremely effective in the treatment of malignant tumors of the liver, especially in combination with other treatments. Chemoembolization has shown promising results in the treatment of metastatic tumors. This type of treatment approved by the FDA for the treatment of metastases.

Radioembolization

Radioembolization is very similar to chemoembolization but uses radioactive microspheres. This therapy is used to treat both primary and metastatic liver tumors. Used embolic spheres of the radioactive isotope yttrium-90 to deliver radiation directly into the tumor. Each area the size of five red blood cells in width. These pellets are inserted through a catheter into the groin and cause cell death. The technique provides a higher, local dose of radiation without risk to healthy tissue.

This is a relatively new therapy that was effective in the treatment of primary and metastatic cancers of the liver. It has fewer side effects than standard cancer treatments.

Radiofrequency ablation

For inoperable liver tumors, radiofrequency ablation offers a nonsurgical, localized treatment that kills tumor cells with heat while sparing healthy liver tissue. Thus, this treatment is much easier on the patient than systemic therapy. The FDA has approved RFA for treatment of liver tumors.

In a small number of cases, RFA can extend patients ' lives. Depending onthe size of the tumor, RFA can shrink or kill the tumor, increasing survival time of the patient and significantly improving their quality of life. Because it is a local treatment and does not harm healthy tissue, the treatment can be repeated as often as necessary to keep patients in the comfort zone. This is a very safe procedure, with complication rate of the order of two to three percent, and have been available since the late 1990s.

New cancer treatments

Interventional radiology plays an important role in the development of new methods that can improve cancer treatment in the future, including with the use magnetic particles and delivery of genetic material, called gene therapy, to fight or prevent cancer. These methods are still investigational, and they give new hope in the war against cancer.

"Magnetic" chemotherapy

Interventional radiologists are currently investigating a new technique that uses magnets to pull chemotherapy drug into the tumor. Microscopic magnetic particles are attached to the drug and are delivered through a catheter in a blood vessel which nourishes a tumor. The rare earth magnet is positioned above the patient's body directly over the location of the tumor. The magnet attracts the particles so that they fall into the tumor. Although the technique is still experimental but very promising. The doctors hope that it will support the effects of chemotherapy while avoiding some of its side effects such as hair loss and nausea.

Gene therapy

In recent years, scientists have gained new understanding about genes — the basic biological units of heredity and the role they play in the formation of disease. This knowledge laid the Foundation for medical science — gene therapy. Although the science is still in the early experimental stage, researchers hope that in the future it can be used for:

• Treatment of cancer and other genetic diseases;
• Changes in the cells of the immune system of cancer patients and returning them to the body, where they might attack your disease or to act as vaccines;
• To replace a faulty gene responsible for cancer growth on “good” gen.

One of the problems of gene therapy is finding safe and effective ways to deliver genes or genetically modified cells into the tumor.

Doctors put high hopes on new developments and their early application in medical practice.