Institutions use transarterial radioembolization for pediatric liver cancer

A team of physicians from the Baylor College of Medicine and the Texas Children’s Cancer Center’s Pediatric Liver Tumor Program have begun using a state-of-the-art treatment known as transarterial radioembolization to treat children with liver tumors, according to a press release.

Transarterial radioembolization (TARE) is a two-step procedure in which dye is injected into an artery to identify blood supplies to the tumor followed by a high dose of radiation directly to the tumor via the mapped blood vessel, thereby sparing the neighboring healthy liver tissue.

“By the time pediatric patients with liver cancer present, their tumors are often too large or complex for surgical consideration,” Kamlesh U. Kukreja, MD, assistant professor of radiology at Baylor, said in the release. “The TARE procedure allows us to better control the tumor to prevent it from spreading further, or to shrink the tumor to a size that can be optimized for resection.”

While the procedure has been available to adults with liver cancer for many years, it is still a rare option for pediatric patients, according to the release.

“TARE may help some children with unresectable tumors by decreasing the tumor size and allowing tumor resection. For the children with liver cancer we cannot cure, TARE provides an alternative palliative care measure, giving the child more time with their family and a more comfortable therapy experience,” Andras A. Heczey MD, assistant professor of pediatrics-oncology at Baylor and Texas Children’s Cancer Center said in the release.

Reference: www.bcm.edu