What is radiofrequency ablation (RFA), and how does it work? RFA is a technique for generating heat in living tissues through alternating electrical currents. The alternating currents result in agitation of ions and frictional heat, which can result in coagulation necrosis of tissue. This technology has been applied to the treatment of many conditions, including …
What is postembolization syndrome? Postembolization syndrome is an expected set of symptoms and signs, including pain, fever, nausea, vomiting, and leukocytosis, that patients may experience after an embolization. PES is an expected side effect of liver embolization and can occur after TAE, TACE, and SIRT. It is characterized by fever, abdominal pain, anorexia, nausea, vomiting, …
What tumor markers are used to follow HCC? What about metastatic colon cancer? For HCC, the most reliable tumor marker is serum alpha fetoprotein (AFP). For colon cancer, the tumor marker commonly used is serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA).
What types of hepatic malignancies can be treated with TACE? TACE is most often used for liver tumors. The most common tumors treated with chemoembolization are hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and hepatic metastatic lesions from colon cancer. Other tumors include metastatic hepatic lesions from carcinoid tumors and other neuroendocrine tumors, breast cancer, islet cell tumors of …
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What is meant by transarterial chemoembolization (TACE)? TACE is a procedure that involves blocking (embolizing) the arterial blood supply to a tumor and injecting chemotherapeutic drugs directly into the artery that feeds the tumor. A catheter is placed in the femoral artery and used to select the hepatic artery. The catheter in the hepatic artery …
What are advantages of EVAR over traditional open surgical repair? The advantages of EVAR are that it is less invasive than open surgery, has a lower surgical morbidity and mortality rate, and reduces the length of postoperative hospital stays. The disadvantages of EVAR are the initial cost of the devices, the need for lifelong follow-up …
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What advantages will future generations of stent grafts have over ones that are currently available? Currently approved stent grafts have catheter delivery profiles ranging from 20 to 24 Fr. New designs currently in clinical trials have profiles ranging from 14 to 18 Fr, which would decrease access complications and significantly improve the ability to treat patients (especially …