Is nuclear medicine helpful in placement of arterial perfusion catheters?
The use of hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy can serve as an adjuvant treatment following surgery or may be used for patients with unresectable disease. Occasional unrecognized systemic shunting, catheter dislodgment, and unintended perfusion of an area not suitable for highly toxic chemotherapeutic drugs hamper placement of hepatic arterial perfusion catheters. Arterial catheter injection of 99m Tc-macroaggregated albumin (MAA) results in temporary microembolization and provides an imaging map of the true area of perfusion of the catheter. After a baseline scan, if there has been a significant change in perfusion, further therapy with chemotherapy would entail significant risk for GI toxicity.
