Chemotherapy Technique Offers Respite for Liver Cancer Patients

Primary liver cancer used to be a relatively rare disease in the US. More recently, however, there has been an increase in this particularly lethal and difficult-to-treat disease. Experts say the increase is due to a large, silent epidemic of hepatitis and cirrhosis among aging baby-boomers. Both of these conditions can progress to liver cancer.

Medical College of Wisconsin Cancer Center physicians at Froedtert Hospital provide therapy that both extends life and improves quality of life for patients with advanced primary liver cancer and some metastatic liver cancers. The treatment is called chemoembolization, and the highly practiced skills of interventional radiologists like William S. Rilling, MD, Associate Professor of Radiology, make it possible.

"Before this therapy was available, treatment options for these patients were extremely limited," Dr. Rilling says. "Not only are the patients extremely ill, but this type of cancer is particularly difficult to treat."

The liver poses several obstacles to conventional cancer therapy, according to Dr. Rilling. Systemic chemotherapy has not been effective in primary liver tumors. In general, radiation therapy has had limited success with primary liver tumors as well. Patients are often not candidates for surgery due to the extent of their tumor or to the severity of their underlying liver disease.

During chemoembolization, Dr. Rilling and his colleagues can deliver a potent dose of chemotherapy directly into the artery supplying a specific tumor, then plug it. This not only turns the tumor into a closed pocket of potent, cancer-killing agents, but it also cuts off the tumor's blood supply. Using equipment like that used for angioplasty, the chemotherapy and plug are delivered through a tiny catheter, which is introduced via a groin artery and guided all the way to the artery that nourishes the tumor.

Shrinkage of tumors by this technique can bring dramatic relief to patients. Multiple tumors in one lobe of the liver can be treated in each session and, as long as a patient has enough functioning liver tissue to survive, the procedure can be repeated as new tumors arise. The procedure involves only mild discomfort and patients are typically discharged the following day.

For more information on the chemoembolization treatment, please call Dr. Rilling's office at (414) 805-3125.

MCW Health News presents up-to-date information on patient care and medical research by the physicians of the Medical College of Wisconsin.