Aim
Irreversible electroporation (IRE) is a non-thermal ablative option in patients unsuitable for standard thermal ablation, due to its potential to preserve collagenous structures (vessels and ducts) and a reduced susceptibility to heat sink effects. In this series from two large tertiary referral hepatobiliary centres, we aim to assess the safety/outcomes of hepatic IRE.
Materials and Methods
Bi-institutional retrospective, longitudinal follow-up series of IRE for primary hepatic malignancy; [hepatocellular carcinoma (
n
= 20), cholangiocarcinoma (
n
= 3)] and secondary metastatic disease; colorectal (
n
= 28), neuroendocrine (
n
= 1), pancreatic (
n
= 1), breast (
n
= 1), gastrointestinal stromal tumour (GIST,
n
= 1) and malignant thymoma (
n
= 1). Outcome measures included procedural safety/effectiveness, time to progression and time to death.
Results
Between 2013 and 2017, 52 patients underwent percutaneous IRE of 59 liver tumours in 53 sessions. All tumours were deemed unsuitable for thermal ablation. Cases were performed using ultrasound (US) or computed tomography (CT) guidance. A complete ablation was achieved in
n
= 44, (75%) of cases with an overall complication rate of 17% (
n
= 9). Of the complete ablation group, median time to progression was 8 months. At 12 months, 44% were progression-free (95% CI 30–66%). The data suggest that larger lesion size (> 2 cm) is associated with shorter time to progression and there is highly significant difference with faster time to progression in mCRC compared with HCC. Median survival time was 38 months.
Conclusion
This bi-institutional review is the largest UK series of IRE and suggests this ablative technology can be a useful tool, but appears to mainly induce local tumour control rather than cure with HCC having better outcomes than mCRC.
Aim Flow redistribution is not uncommonly performed as a treatment strategy to optimize delivery of radioembolization particles to the liver. We quantitatively evaluated the effect of vessel embolization to promote flow redistribution when performing selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT) for liver metastases, and assessed long-term outcomes of treatment.
Materials and Methods One hundred and fifty-eight SIRT procedures over an 8-year period were retrospectively reviewed. Twenty-three patients who underwent partial/whole embolization of the left hepatic artery were compared to a control group of 18 patients who did not receive any hepatic embolization as part of their work up. Counts were measured for each patient on both the post-99mTcMAA injection, and the post-90Y microspheres injection imaging. Recurrence and survival rates were also measured.
Results A statistically significant shift in the right:left ratio between planning and treatment procedures was seen in patients who had vessel embolization in favor of the embolized lobe (p = 0.014). There was no significant difference in the time to recurrence in the embolized lobes versus the nonembolized lobes. No significant difference in overall survival was detected between the two cohorts.
Conclusion To facilitate safe whole liver treatment, it is sometimes necessary to partially or completely occlude main or accessory hepatic arteries. This study shows that the success of flow redistribution strategies can be quantitatively measured, and there is no adverse impact on time to recurrence or overall survival outcomes.
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