Chemoembolization - Detail

Reprinted with permission of the Society of Interventional Radiology © 2004, 2008 www.SIRweb.org.
All rights reserved.

Chemoembolization is a minimally invasive treatment that can be used when there is too Mother and daughtermuch tumor to treat with radiofrequency ablation (RFA), when the tumor is in a location that cannot be treated with RFA, or in combination with RFA or other treatments.

Chemoembolization delivers a high dose of cancer-killing drug (chemotherapy) directly to the organ while depriving the tumor of its blood supply by blocking, or embolizing, the arteries feeding the tumor. Using imaging for guidance, the interventional radiologist threads a tiny catheter up the femoral artery in the groin into the blood vessels supplying the tumor. The embolic agents keep the chemotherapy drug in the tumor by blocking the flow to other areas of the body. This allows for a higher dose of chemotherapy drug to be used, because less of the drug is able to circulate to the healthy cells in the body.

Chemoembolization usually involves a hospital stay of two to four days. Patients may have lower than normal energy levels for about a month afterwards.

Efficacy

Liver Tumors: Chemoembolization is a palliative, not a curative, treatment. It can be extremely effective in treating primary liver cancers, especially when combined with other therapies. Chemoembolization has shown promising early results with some types of metastatic tumors. Although the individual materials used in this treatment are FDA approved, the treatment itself is not yet approved for intra-arterial therapy of liver tumors.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:

Virginia Interventional and Vascular Associates (VIVA)
1201B Sam Perry Blvd
Suite 265
Fredericksburg, Virginia 22401
(Next to Mary Washington Hospital)
Phone: (540) 654-9118
Office Hours: 8 am to 5 pm Monday - Friday
Email: info@vivassociates.com
Web site: www.vivassociates.com