MDNews - Mid Penn

Microbubbles May Boost Response to Transarterial Radioembolization for the Most Common Form of Liver Cancer BY THOMAS CROCKER IN A FIRST-OF-ITS- KIND CLINICAL TRIAL, RESE ARCHERS AT THOMA S JEFFERSON UNIVERSIT Y DEMONSTR ATED THE SAFE T Y OF COMBINING ULTR A SOUND-TRIGGERED MICROBUBBLE DESTRUCTION AND TR ANSARTERIAL R ADIOEMBOLIZ ATION (TARE) TO TRE AT PATIENTS WITH HEPATOCELLUL AR CARCINOMA — AND FOUND THAT COMBINING THE THER APIES WA S NE ARLY T WICE A S EFFECTIVE A S TARE ALONE. HEPATOCELLUL AR CARCINOMA (HCC) is the most common form of primary liver cancer, a disease that kills about 27,000 people in the U.S. annually, according to the CDC. Liver cancer's toll has grown substantially in recent decades — the American Cancer Society reports that liver cancer death rates have more than doubled since 1980. A common treatment for many individuals with advanced HCC is TARE, which involves injecting yttrium-90-infused beads into the hepatic artery. Once settled in the artery, the beads deliver radiation to the liver tumor. "The optimal treatment for primary liver cancer depends on tumor stage, liver function, patient performance status and local interventional radiology expertise," says Colette Shaw, MD, interventional radiologist and Associate Professor of Radiology at Thomas Jefferson University and lead clinical author of a recent pilot study examining the safety and efficacy of combining TARE and ultrasound-triggered destruction of microbubbles. "TARE is indicated as a palliative treatment in those with hepatocellular carcinoma confined to the liver who are not surgical resection candidates, as a bridge to transplant or to downstage 1 4

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