Chemoembolization is a minimally invasive therapy option for palliative treatment of liver metastases in patients with colorectal cancer, with similar results among three chemoembolization protocols.

Transarterial hepatic chemotherapy using mitomycin C and gemcitabine can be an effective therapeutic protocol for controlling local metastases and improving survival time in patients with hepatic metastases from neuroendocrine tumors.

The purpose was to evaluate the effectiveness of transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) in local tumor control and survival in patients with hepatic metastases from renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Prospective evaluation of TACE treatment outcome in 22 patients recruited from 1999 and 2005 was performed. The chemotherapeutic agent used was mitomycin only in 45% of the patients and mitomycin together with gemcitabine in the other 55%. The embolizing materials used in all of the patients were iodized oil (lipiodol) and degradable starch microspheres. Local response was evaluated by MRI and judged according to Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST). Mean and median survival and survival probability after diagnosis and treatment were both calculated by Kaplan-Meier method. Partial response was achieved in 13.7%, stable disease in 59% and progressive disease in 27.3% of patients. Survival time from the diagnosis of metastases ranged from 18 to 307 months and from 2.2 to 35 months from the start of TACE treatment. The median and mean survival times from the date of diagnosis were 68.6 and 102.9 months, respectively. The median and mean survival times from the start of TACE were 8.2 and 11.7 months, respectively. Survival probability from the start of treatment was 31% after 1 year and 6% after 2 years. TACE can result in a favorable local tumor response in patients with hepatic metastases from RCC, but survival results are still limited.

A high-pitch, dual-source mode is potentially advantageous for evaluating the lung parenchyma and vascular structures in patients who have difficulty complying with breath-holding instructions. Increasing from 16 to 128 slices can significantly reduce the number and severity of motion artifacts.

e15595 Background: To evaluate local tumor control and survival data in the palliative and symptomatic treatment of hepatic cholangiocarcinoma (CCC) using repeated transarterial chemoperfusion and -embolization (TACE) with two different chemotherapy protocols. Methods: 41 patients with primary cholangiocarcinoma (CCC) were repeatedly treated with transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) in 4-week intervals. In total, 291 TACE sessions were performed with a mean of 7.1 sessions per patient (mean age: 57.1 years; range, 37–80 years). 22 patients had multiple tumors, 6 showed 1 lesion, 5 had 2 lesions and 8 presented 3 to 4 lesions. The local chemotherapy protocol consisted of Mitomycin C alone (n=20), or in combination with gemcitabine (n=18). Embolization was performed with lipiodol and starch microspheres for vessel occlusion. Tumor response was evaluated by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in 3-month intervals. Results: Evaluation of local tumor control according to the RECIST criteria was as follows: partial response 9.8%, stable disease 43.6%, and progressive disease 46.6%. The 1-year survival rate after TACE was 58%, the 2-year survival rate was 21%. The mean survival time from the date of diagnosis of liver involvement was 34.1 months (according to Kaplan-Meier), after first TACE treatment 16.7 months. The median survival time of the palliative group was 14.5 months and of the symptomatic group 6 months. Conclusions: Our data indicated that repeated TACE using the protocols is well tolerated and yields respectable results in patients with unresectable liver lesions from CCC. No significant financial relationships to disclose.