New Treatment for Liver Cancer

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville have released the results of a study that offers patients who have liver cancer that originated in another organ, a new and what looks to be a very successful treatment option.

The new procedure involves placing tiny radioactive spheres into the liver by way of the blood supply. In their study, it halted the growth of tumors that had spread to the liver in 71% of the cases.

This type of cancer is hard to treat because surgery is not an option when multiple tumors are involved. If this new treatment proves to be successful beyond the clinical trial just completed, it could be the only hope of stopping the growth of the tumor.

The therapy is known as SIR-Spheres microspheres and was first approved by the FDA in 2002, but this study is one of the first to come up with results from a clinical trial. The therapy uses millions and millions of very tiny, about 1/3 the diameter of a human hair, polymer beads. The beads are filled with the radioactive element yttrium-90. The procedure is done by an intermentional radiologist who uses a catheter to place the spheres right into the heptic artery, which is the only one that supplies the liver with blood. Once inserted, the beads will deliver the radiation directly into the tumors for 11 days or so.

In the trial just completed there were 20 patients who received microspheres at Mayo Clinic Jacksonville. In 75% of the patients, the entire liver was treated, and in the rest of the 25%, it was either one of the two lobes of the lever that was treated. At the four-week mark, they performed a CT scan to see what if any response there had been and found that in 71% of the patients, the tumors had actually decreased in size, and in follow up CT scans, the tumors were either smaller or less active.

Most of the patients had very few side effects. Unfortunately, the cancer did progress in two of the patients and they died within three months, but in the patients who did respond to the treatment, there were no new tumors detected at the 10-month mark and liver function tests shows that the function has returned to normal or have stabilized.

They have determined that the treatment works the best when the patient has a good blood flow to the tumors. They are planing to do a longer follow up to get an understanding of the overall effect.

The lead researcher on the project is Laura Vallow, M.D. and the study was solely funded by the Mayo Clinic.

Source: Mayo Clinic http://www.newswise.com/