This is the fourth leg of the collaborative oncology team. Once a patient is diagnosed with cancer often initially by a biopsy performed by an interventional radiologist under image guidance or a surgeon under a surgical biopsy . Sometimes, certain lab tests are high which is indicative something is wrong. A patient will see either a surgical oncologist, medical oncologist, radiation oncologist and an interventional oncologist. Sadly, patients often see us when all other options have been exhausted.
In endovascular intervention (intravascular surgery), a thin tube (size of a spaghetti noodle) called a catheter is inserted into the artery or vein to provide treatment from within the blood vessels. Arterial chemoembolization for cancer is one such treatment. A microcatheter, 1 mm in diameter, is inserted at the site of the tumor while performing angiography. After an infusion of anticancer agents is locally injected, the artery, the tumor’s nutrient source, is blocked with an embolic agent to stop the supply of blood. By using anticancer drugs and starvation tactics, we aim to prevent tumor growth or to induce a tumor-dormant state, and ultimately achieve a reduction in the number of cancer cells. By doing so, this treatment allows us to maintain the QOL (quality of life) of the patient and to prolong his/her life.We would like to see our involvement earlier in a more collaborative relationship. Interventional oncology is described as follows:
In endovascular intervention (intravascular surgery), a thin tube (size of a spaghetti noodle) called a catheter is inserted into the artery or vein to provide treatment from within the blood vessels. Arterial chemoembolization for cancer is one such treatment. A microcatheter, 1 mm in diameter, is inserted at the site of the tumor while performing angiography. After an infusion of anticancer agents is locally injected, the artery, the tumor’s nutrient source, is blocked with an embolic agent to stop the supply of blood. By using anticancer drugs and starvation tactics, we aim to prevent tumor growth or to induce a tumor-dormant state, and ultimately achieve a reduction in the number of cancer cells. By doing so, this treatment allows us to maintain the QOL (quality of life) of the patient and to prolong his/her life.We would like to see our involvement earlier in a more collaborative relationship. Interventional oncology is described as follows:
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Intra-arterial Therapy:
Chemoembolization: Administration of chemotherapy directly into the blood vessels which are providing blood supply and feeding the tumor in the liver, lung, bone, kidney and breast. This is followed by placing small occluding particles into the same blood vessels of the tumor and closing off the blood supply. This can be performed multiple times to achieve the desired response within the tumor. Drug-Eluting Beads: Administration of beads in the artery which have been impregnated with chemotherapy. This provides release of chemotherapy into the tumor slowly destroying the tumor over a greater period of time. |
Radioembolization: Administration of radiation particles called Yttrium 90 or Y-90 directly into the artery feeding the tumor in the liver. The radioactivity destroys the tumor without affecting the rest of the body. Thermal Ablation: Destroys tumors using either heat or cold. Small probes are placed directly into the tumor using either CT, MRI or ultrasound guidance. There are different types of heat ablation such as laser, radiofrequency and microwave therapy which super heats the tumor. Cryoablation freezes the tumor. Sometimes we will use a combination method. It is better and safer to ablate tumors when they are small. Therefore; sometime we will starve the tumor with embolization first in order to shrink the tumor then it is safe to perform thermal ablation when the tumor is smaller. www.stopcancercold.com |
