We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress
Sign In
Advertise with Us
GLOBETECH PUBLISHING LLC

Download Mobile App




Microbubbles Augment RT in Liver Cancer Patients

By MedImaging International staff writers
Posted on 31 Dec 2020
Print article
Image: Images from a 54-year-old male patient with HCC who underwent TARE with UTMD. The bottom row shows B-mode ultrasound of tumor destruction at different time points after the procedure (Photo courtesy of TJU)
Image: Images from a 54-year-old male patient with HCC who underwent TARE with UTMD. The bottom row shows B-mode ultrasound of tumor destruction at different time points after the procedure (Photo courtesy of TJU)
A new study suggests that bursting gas-filled microbubbles using ultrasound waves sensitizes liver tumors to targeted radiation therapy (RT), improving overall survival.

Researchers at Thomas Jefferson University (TJU; Philadelphia, PA, USA) conducted a pilot study involving 28 patients (mean age 70 years, 17 men) with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), who were randomly assigned to trans-arterial radioembolization (TARE), or TARE in conjunction with ultrasound-triggered destruction of microbubbles (UTMD). The researchers evaluated tumor response to each treatment. The safety of UTMD was evaluated by physiologic monitoring, liver function tests, adverse events, and radiopharmaceutical distribution.

No significant changes in body temperature, heart rate, liver function, or diastolic or systolic pressure before and after UTMD were found. Preliminary efficacy results showed that 93% of tumors had partial to complete response to the TARE+UTMD approach, while only 50% showed a response in the TARE alone group. The researchers also found that patients receiving the combined therapy were also more likely to receive a liver transplant, and also lived longer and required fewer retreatments compared to those receiving TARE alone. The study was published on December 8, 2020, in Radiology.

"This approach has shown to be effective in preclinical studies using animal models of other solid tumors like bladder, prostate, and breast cancer. This is the first work to demonstrate this approach is safe and shows promise in humans with liver cancer, which is very exciting,” said lead author John Eisenbrey, PhD. “This approach could be effective in treating metastatic liver tumors, but also other types of primary cancer. The bubbles themselves can also be engineered to deliver chemotherapy or oxygen as they burst.”

TARE is an experimental therapy for unresectable HCC. The technique involves attaching radioactive Yttrium molecules to tiny glass beads, which are then injected directly into the blood vessels feeding the liver tumor. As healthy liver tissue is mainly perfused by the portal vein, while most liver malignancies derive their blood supply from the hepatic artery, TARE can be selectively administered to the tumors. The microspheres lodge in the small vessels of the tumor (embolization), emitting localized RT to targeted segments, results in tissue necrosis. Damage to healthy liver tissue is thus minimized.

Related Links:
Thomas Jefferson University

Gold Member
Solid State Kv/Dose Multi-Sensor
AGMS-DM+
Digital Radiography Acquisition Software
VXvue with PureImpact
Imaging Table
Stille imagiQ2
Under Table Shield
3 Section Double Pivot Under Table Shield

Print article

Channels

Ultrasound

view channel
Image: Structure of the proposed transparent ultrasound transducer and its optical transmittance (Photo courtesy of POSTECH)

Ultrasensitive Broadband Transparent Ultrasound Transducer Enhances Medical Diagnosis

The ultrasound-photoacoustic dual-modal imaging system combines molecular imaging contrast with ultrasound imaging. It can display molecular and structural details inside the body in real time without... Read more

Imaging IT

view channel
Image: The new Medical Imaging Suite makes healthcare imaging data more accessible, interoperable and useful (Photo courtesy of Google Cloud)

New Google Cloud Medical Imaging Suite Makes Imaging Healthcare Data More Accessible

Medical imaging is a critical tool used to diagnose patients, and there are billions of medical images scanned globally each year. Imaging data accounts for about 90% of all healthcare data1 and, until... Read more

Industry News

view channel
Image: The acquisition will expand IBA’s medical imaging quality assurance offering (Photo courtesy of Radcal)

IBA Acquires Radcal to Expand Medical Imaging Quality Assurance Offering

Ion Beam Applications S.A. (IBA, Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium), the global leader in particle accelerator technology and a world-leading provider of dosimetry and quality assurance (QA) solutions, has entered... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2024 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.