New Therapies Increasingly Being Used to Treat Liver Cancer

These are the latest findings of the Millennium Research Group (MRG; Waltham, MA, USA), a leading provider of strategic information to the healthcare sector. Traditionally, liver cancer is treated by surgical resection or liver transplantation. Many tumors, however, are not suitable for resection; and liver transplants are infrequent. The option of chemotherapy with cytotoxic drugs is available in cases where surgery is contraindicated; however, it is an extremely grueling process for the patient to endure. Alternatively, liver-directed particle embolization is a minimally invasive procedure that employs catheter-based techniques to deliver particle therapies that inhibit blood flow to the inoperable tumor. In addition, these embolization particles can be combined with chemotherapeutic drugs or radioactive components to better target the liver, allowing patients safer, less invasive cancer treatment.

"Unlike systemic chemotherapy, which affects the whole body, liver-directed therapies allow for a stronger, more targeted treatment of the cancer, resulting in shorter hospital stays and fewer complications,” said Darren Navarro, a senior analyst at MRG. "As more clinical evidence is released supporting device efficacy, radioembolization spheres will increasingly be accepted by physicians, institutions, and private insurance providers as a viable treatment option for inoperable tumors of the liver.”

Radioembolization spheres are currently used to treat hepatic cellular carcinoma (HCC) and metastatic colorectal liver cancer in the United States. HCC is a primary liver cancer that originates in the liver, and is often linked to hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and liver cirrhosis, whereas metastatic colorectal liver cancer is a secondary cancer that forms in the bowel and moves to the liver.

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