Standard Therapies for Cancer Treatment
Interventional Oncology
Interventional radiology techniques are quickly becoming standard therapies for cancer treatment. Interventional oncology
is the name for this new, high tech and evolving field of non-sugical
cancer therapy. An arsenal of tools has become integral to tumor
diagnosis, treatment, pain control and palliation. Our team of highly skilled image-guided
doctors can deliver cutting edge treatment deep inside the body to kill
cancer without open surgery.
Liver directed therapies
For patients with primary liver cancers or cancers that involve the
liver (such as those from the colon, stomach, pancreas, and breast),
there are many treatment options that we offer in addition to
chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery.
These can be broken down into: radioembolization (Y-90), Chemoembolization, and Thermal Ablation.
Radioembolization (Y-90) An exciting new liver cancer treatment offered by our group is
Yttrium-90 microsphere therapy for liver tumors. A tiny catheter is
threaded into the liver artery, then microscopic glass beads impregnated
with a highly radioactive element are injected into the liver tumors,
giving them a higher dose of radiation than can be safely delivered by
external beam radiation treatment. This liver cancer treatment is effective against primary
cancer of the liver, but new research is showing that it can be
effective in treating metastatic cancer in the liver from colorectal
cancer, neuroendocrine tumors, and even breast cancer.
Chemoembolization For liver cancer treatments, hemoembolization offers an alternative
to patients with primary or metastatic liver tumors that are unable to
be surgically removed. This procedure involves placing a very small tube
or catheter into the artery supplying the liver. The small
vessels in the liver are then partially blocked with small particles
(Drug eluting beads, or D.E.B.) carrying a mixture of chemotherapy. This
technique delivers the chemotherapy into the tumor, so that it remains
in the mass, greatly increasing the effective dose of chemotherapy while
at the same time decreasing the toxicity to the rest of the body.
Thermal ablation One of the newer techniques for liver cancer treatments, is being
used by interventional oncologists for cancer treatment in Illinois and
elsewhere to destroy cancer deposits deep in the body without invasive
surgery. Using either freezing technology, microwave energy, or radiofrequency
energy, the tumor is destroyed. This technique is used for relatively
small tumors in certain organs. We use these methods to treat tumors of
the liver, kidney, spine and lung.
Cryotherapy for cancer
Cryotherapy
Is used to freeze tumors, using imaging guidance. It is another
effective local treatment of tumors that have not spread yet. Using
image guidance, a tumor deep within the body is identified, localized in
3 dimesions with CT scanning or ultrasound, then small needles are
placed painlessly through the skin (using local anesthesia and sedation)
into the tumor. Ice is seen forming on cryogenic tubes, carrying tumor killing power.
A recent study of cryoablation of small kidney cancers showed “100% 5 year cancer-specific survival”,which approaches the “gold standard” of traditional surgical removal. In other words, invasive surgery is NOT better than cryotherapy for small kidney cancers
Additionally, patients with tumor deposits in the bone can undergo this therapy for pain relief.
Stenting
Stenting of Obstruction Caused by Cancer
In some patients, the tumors are large enough or invasive enough to
block off the bile ducts, kidneys, colon, or esophagus. Patients with
bile duct obstruction can be very uncomfortable due to pain, nausea and
itching. Bile duct stenting is palliative, but can allow longer
life, outside the hospital.
Kidneys can become blocked by tumors or
kidney stones. The standard treatment involves an urologist bypassing
the blockage from below through the bladder. If the blockage is too
severe to be crossed in the standard fashion, an interventional
radiologist can enter the kidney through the skin, placing a tube using
ultrasound guidance. In the vast majority of patients, the blockage can
then be crossed from above and a drainage tube (nephrostomy tube) or a ureteral
stent placed to allow drainage of urine into the bladder.
Biopsies
A Biopsy involves extracting tissue samples from suspected tumors to
diagnose cancer. Using image-guided techniques provides accurate diagnoses to guide
treatment plans.
Image guided biopsy is the most common
interventional cancer procedure.
Port-a-cath Placement
A Port-a-cath is a small medical device implanted under the skin to
provide easy access to a central vein for administering chemotherapy and
other treatments.
