Y90 radioembolization could potentially have a role in converting liver cancers from unresectable to resectable, Dr. Riad Salem (Northwestern Medicine) says. One option for the treatment of liver cancer is a liver transplant. However, far more patients need liver transplants than there are livers, he says. "So we need to figure out ways to make people who are unresectable resectable and cure them without a transplant."
One possibility is with a radiation lobectomy, Dr. Salem says. "Radiation lobectomy means taking advantage of Y90 to treat the tumor and hypertrophy of what remains of the liver after resection. Our tools to make that happen in the past have been limited, but Y90 has changed that paradigm completely. We now are able to potentially resect and cure people that four months before were told, 'You're unresectable and incurable. That's all there is.' This is very, very exciting." A preliminary study published in the Journal of Surgical Oncology in July 2016 found that radiation lobectomy was a safe and effective method to achieve remnant liver cell enlargement while providing tumor control.
Radioembolization with Y90 may also have a role in non cancer treatments. Salem and his colleagues recently started an industry-sponsored trial of radioembolization to treat enlarged spleens. "People with chronic liver disease often develop large spleens from portal hypertension," he says, adding that enlarged spleens cause low platelet counts, which can lead to any of a number of downstream health effects.
One way to deal with the problem is to try to kill part of the spleen by scarring it with radiation. "If I can radiate part of the spleen and scar it down, it will metabolize fewer platelets, and the patient's platelet count will increase," Salem says. The study was approved in November 2016 and is currently enrolling patients.”
Excerpts from: Radiology Today
February 2017 Vol. 18 No. 2 P.18 to view the full article/original version in Radiology Today, visit: http://www.radiologytoday.net/archive/rt0217p18.shtml
One possibility is with a radiation lobectomy, Dr. Salem says. "Radiation lobectomy means taking advantage of Y90 to treat the tumor and hypertrophy of what remains of the liver after resection. Our tools to make that happen in the past have been limited, but Y90 has changed that paradigm completely. We now are able to potentially resect and cure people that four months before were told, 'You're unresectable and incurable. That's all there is.' This is very, very exciting." A preliminary study published in the Journal of Surgical Oncology in July 2016 found that radiation lobectomy was a safe and effective method to achieve remnant liver cell enlargement while providing tumor control.
Radioembolization with Y90 may also have a role in non cancer treatments. Salem and his colleagues recently started an industry-sponsored trial of radioembolization to treat enlarged spleens. "People with chronic liver disease often develop large spleens from portal hypertension," he says, adding that enlarged spleens cause low platelet counts, which can lead to any of a number of downstream health effects.
One way to deal with the problem is to try to kill part of the spleen by scarring it with radiation. "If I can radiate part of the spleen and scar it down, it will metabolize fewer platelets, and the patient's platelet count will increase," Salem says. The study was approved in November 2016 and is currently enrolling patients.”
Excerpts from: Radiology Today
February 2017 Vol. 18 No. 2 P.18 to view the full article/original version in Radiology Today, visit: http://www.radiologytoday.net/archive/rt0217p18.shtml