MDNews - Mid Penn

Y T TRIUMŸ90 ›YŸ90œ HA S LONG BEEN USED TO TRE AT LIVER CANCER. RESE ARCHERS ARE E XPLORING ITS POTENTIAL TO TRE AT DISE A SES IN OTHER SITES, BUT A NUMBER OF OBSTACLES HAVE MADE PROGRESS HALTING. Y†90 R A D I O E MB O L IZ AT I O N BEC A ME popu la r for liver ca ncers because it is a n ex tremely ta rgeted therapy that can be delivered on an outpatient basis. Additiona lly, it has fewer adverse e‡ ects than other radiotherapies for similar cases, a nd it has had high response rates a mong patients. In fact, radioembolization may change some liver cancers from unresectable to operable. Such usage was predicted in 2014, and by 2016, early case studies were being published. In several cases, patients have undergone Y-90 radioembolization followed by resection of the diseased portion of the liver, with no evidence of disease in the remaining liver tissue, according to a 2016 report in Endovascular Today. In this atmosphere of early promise, researchers at many institutions have been a ssessing the possibi lit y of Y-90 radioembolization for diseases in other sites. Meningiomas, rena l cell carcinomas and endocrine tumors have a ll been explored as promising a reas for Y-90 radioembolization. The technique has a lso been considered for the treatment of noncancerous diseases, including enlarged spleen and obesity. BURGEONING INTEREST Its demonstrated e‡ ectiveness in hepatic cancer treatment since the early 1990s has fueled interest in Y-90's potentia l. For example, Robert John Lewandowski, MD, FSIR, Associate Building on the Promise of Radioembolization with Yttrium-90 BY JENNIFER WEBSTER 1 8R A D I O L O G Y

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