Selective internal radiation therapy, also known as transarterial radioembolization, radioembolization or intra-arterial microbrachytherapy, is a form of radionuclide therapy used in interventional radiology to treat cancer. It is generally used for selected patients with surgically unresectable cancers, especially hepatocellular carcinoma or metastasis to the liver. The treatment involves injecting tiny microspheres of radioactive material into the arteries that supply the tumor, where the spheres lodge in the tumor small vessels. Because the treatment combines radiotherapy with embolization, it is also called radioembolization; its chemotherapeutic analogue is chemoembolization, of which transcatheter arterial chemoembolization is the usual form.
Facts
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Sources
1. Wikipedia
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia Foundationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_internal_radiation_therapy, lead sectionQuote, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_internal_radiation_therapy, lead section
Selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT), also known as transarterial radioembolization (TARE), radioembolization or intra-arterial microbrachytherapy is a form of radionuclide therapy used in interventional radiology to treat cancer.
2. Selective Internal Radiation Therapy (Wikipedia)
WikipediaHistory section, first sentenceQuote, History section, first sentence
Investigation of yttrium-90 and other radioisotopes for cancer treatment began in the 1960s.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is selective internal radiation therapy?
Radioactive microspheres injected into the arteries supplying a tumor, mainly liver cancers.
Selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT), also known as transarterial radioembolization (TARE), radioembolization or intra-arterial microbrachytherapy, is a form of radionuclide therapy used in interventional radiology to treat cancer. It is generally for selected patients with surgically unresectable cancers, especially hepatocellular carcinoma or metastasis to the liver. The treatment involves injecting tiny microspheres of radioactive material into the arteries that supply the tumor, where the spheres lodge in the small vessels of the tumor.
Why is radioembolization suited to liver tumors?
Liver tissue is radiation sensitive, and tumors draw blood from the hepatic artery, so particles lodge in the tumor.
The radiation sensitivity of the liver parenchyma limits the radiation dose that can be delivered via external beam radiotherapy. SIRT, on the other hand, involves the direct insertion of radioactive microspheres to a region, resulting in a local and targeted deposition of radioactive dose. The healthy liver tissue is mainly perfused by the portal vein, while most liver malignancies derive their blood supply from the hepatic artery, so the particles are preferentially deposited in the tumor, sparing healthy liver tissue.
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