Types of embolization for the treatment of liver cancer
Arterial embolization
- The interventional radiologist inserts a fine catheter from the femoral artery and ascends inside the artery until it reaches the hepatic artery.
- Follow-up on the progress of the catheter using a CT scan with a dye that visualizes the blood vessels with high accuracy.
- Then he injects small particles to block the artery feeding the tumor.
Arterial embolization with local chemotherapy
- This technology represents a new revolution in the treatment of tumors, where the interventional radiologist injects the chemotherapy drug against the cancer cells locally in the place of the tumor only (without intravenous injection of the whole body, which avoids the many side effects of chemotherapy) and then follows it by embolizing the artery feeding the tumor.
Arterial embolization with local radiotherapy “Radio embolization”
- With the same procedure followed with arterial embolization with local chemotherapy with the use of radiotherapy with specific radiation frequencies, its action is limited to the location of the tumor only without affecting the rest of the body’s systems.
Arterial embolization and topical treatment are among the modern safe treatment methods with no serious side effects, but minor effects may occur such as stomach pain, hepatitis or gallbladder, clots in the major arteries of the liver, or infection. The appearance of these complications depends on the experience and skill of the interventional radiologist.