Brachytherapy in combination with LITT treatment appears successful in liver tumors Phase II study says. Article updated April 12, 2011
April 12, 2011: I am cancer-current revision to the article below and let stand as it is still relevant. Brachytherapy in combination with LITT treatment appears successful in liver tumors Phase II study says.
dated May 3, 2004: Source: Radiate Int J Oncol Biol Phys. 2004 April 1, 58 (5) :1496-505.
A combination of brachythrapie with LITT treatment (see also Dr. Vogl) of liver tumors appears to be extremely successful said Phase II study conducted in Berlin. Here the English abstract as extracted from PubMed.
CT-guided interstitial brachytherapy of liver malignancies alone or in combination with thermal ablation: phase I-II results of a novel technique.
Ricke J, Wust P, Stohlmann A, Beck A, Cho CH, Pech M, Wieners G, Track B, Work M, Rosner C, Hanninen EL, Felix R.
Klinik fur Strahlenheilkunde, Medical Faculty Charité Virchow-Klinikum of the Humboldt-University Berlin, Berlin, Germany. jens.ricke @ charite.de
PURPOSE: To Assess the safety and efficacy of CT-guided brachytherapy alone or in combination with laser-induced thermal therapy (LITT) in patients with liver malignancies.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-seven patiënten Presented with 36 liver metastases and two primary liver carcinomas. Twenty-one Patients Were Treated with CT-guided high-dose-rate brachytherapy alone Using a 192Ir source. Sixteen patiënten brachytherapy Received directly after MRI-guided LITT. The Indications for brachytherapy alone Were a tumor size> 5 cm, adjacent central bile duct or adjacent major vessels Causing unfavorable cooling effects for thermal ablation, and technical failures or LITT. The dosimetry for brachytherapy was Performed Using three-dimensional CT data acquired after percutaneous applicator positioning. On average, a minimal dose of 17 Gy inside the tumor margin was applied (range, 10-20 Gy).
RESULTS: The mean tumor size was 4.6 cm (range, 2.5-11 cm). The mean liver volume receiving> or = 5 Gy was 16% (range, 2-40%) of the total liver. Severe Complications Were recorded in 2 patients (5%). One patient Developed acute liver failure may possibly related to accidental continuation of oral capecitabine treatment. Another patient demonstrated obstructive Jaundice Owings to tumor edema after Irradiation of a metastasis adjacent to the bile duct bifurcation. A comm Encountered only moderate increasefontsize or liver enzymes was greatest in patient with combined treatment. The local control rate after 6 months was 73% and 87% for brachytherapy alone and combined treatment, respectively.
CONCLUSION: CT-guided brachytherapy Using three-dimensional CT data for dosimetry is safe and effective alone or in combination with LITT. Brachytherapy as a stand-alone treatment indication, genuine Advantages of thermal tumor ablation.
