Liver Cancer

Embolization is performed to cut off or disrupt the blood supply in order to shrink or kill a tumor. A Bland Embolization treatment is a form of targeted therapy utilized to treat liver cancer tumors. Microscopic particles – with no chemotherapy or radioactivity – are injected through a catheter directly into the arteries that feed the tumor in order to starve the tumor that will shrink or kill it.

Success rates vary widely depending on the type of cancer treated and the type of embolization performed.

Embolization is performed to cut off or disrupt the blood supply in order to shrink or kill a tumor. A Chemoembolization treatment is a form of targeted radiation therapy utilized to treat liver cancer tumors. Microscopic spheres that emit chemotherapy are injected through a catheter directly into the blood vessels that feed the tumor, simultaneously cutting off the blood supply while also emitting chemotherapy directly into the tumor.

Success rates vary widely depending on the type of cancer treated and the type of embolization performed.

We are currently the only outpatient clinic in Colorado capable of performing the Y90 radioembolization procedure. Embolization is performed to cut off or disrupt the blood supply in order to shrink or kill a tumor.

A Y90 treatment is a form of targeted radiation therapy utilized to treat liver cancer tumors. Microscopic radioactive spheres are injected through a catheter directly into the blood vessels that feed the tumor, simultaneously cutting off the blood supply and radiating the tumor at the same time. Once there, they emit radiation for a period of about a month, killing the tumors from the inside. The name Y90 comes from tiny beads that contain a radioactive substance called Yttrium-90.

Success rates vary widely depending on the type of cancer treated and the type of embolization performed.

Percutaneous Thermal Ablation is a procedure that uses an energy source (heat, cold or chemical) to destroy cancerous tissue in a target organ.  "Percutaneous" means "through the skin," "Thermal" means "energy" and "Ablation" means "to terminate or reroute a faulty pathway," in this case the blood supply to the cancerous tissue.

The three forms of ablations our providers specialize in are:

• Microwave or MWA (Heat)


• Cryo (Cold)


• Radiofrequency or RFA (Radiowaves)

Percutaneous Thermal Ablation involves advancing a special type of needle directly into a tumor within the target organ with the assistance of Ultrasound, CT scan and/or X-ray guidance. The needle is used to deliver an energy source to the tumor in order to destroy it while minimizing damage in the target organ.

This is a minimally-invasive procedure, performed in our comfortable, office-based laboratory, which means that there is no need to take time off work or go to a hospital. Typically,  the procedure is done using minimal sedation, however, some are performed with general anesthesia. There is usually no need for recovery time and patients walk out of our office afterwards.

Results

For some forms of cancer - small renal cell carcinoma, colon cancer in the liver or hepatocellular carcinoma - this is as effective as surgically removing the tumor and the procedure is lower risk, less invasive with little or no recovery time.For others, it can be performed in conjunction with other treatment methods, such as embolization, chemotherapy, radiation, to augment treatment effectiveness.