Scroll Up
Scroll Down
Play Play Play Play
Unregistered User
Click here if this is not your Personal Edition
 
Contact Us | Free E-Mail Updates | Journals | Register a colleague
 
 
Liver Cancer
 
   
 
SEARCH   
Doctor's Guide Free CME
Medline
Congress Resource Centre
 

 EXPLORE :
   Most Read News
 All News  All News
 All Webcasts / CME  All Webcasts / CME
 All Cases  All Cases
 Congress Resource Centre  Congress Resource Centre
 All Medical Resources  All Medical Resources
 Medical  My Personal Edition



Warning | Privacy

 

 
 Recent news - Liver Cancer
    FDA Investigating Possible Link Between Ezetimibe/Simvastatin and Increased Cancer Risk - (DGNews)
    TopAbstracts in Liver Cancer 08/07/2008 - (DGNews)
    FDA Clears the Pathwork Tissue of Origin Test - (DGNews)
    Sorafenib in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma - (N Engl J Med)
    TopAbstracts in Liver Cancer 07/24/2008 - (DGNews)

    News archive

     Recent webcasts/CME - Liver Cancer

    Webcasts/CME archive

     Recent cases - Liver Cancer
      Hemorrhage Associated with Hepatic Artery Pseudoaneurysms After Regional Chemotherapy with Floxuridine: Case Report
      Sinusoidal Obstruction Syndrome (Veno-Occlusive Disease) in a Patient Receiving Bevacizumab for Metastatic Colorectal Cancer: A Case Report
      Long-Term Survival in a Patient with Repeated Resections for Lung Metastasis after Hepatectomy for Ruptured Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Case Report
      Solitary Skull Metastasis as Initial Manifestation of Hepatocellular Carcinoma
      A Multidisciplinary Approach for the Treatment of GIST Liver Metastasis

      Cases archive
        




      my personal edition > liver cancer > news
      divider

        E-Mail this DGDispatch to a colleague

      DGDispatch


      Guidelines Support Ablation Techniques for Unresectable Liver Cancer: Presented at NCCN

      By Ed Susman

      HOLLYWOOD, Fla -- March 12, 2008 -- Tumour ablation techniques should play a major role in treating tumours of the liver that are not suitable for resection, according to updated treatment guidelines for hepatocellular carcinoma presented on March 8th here at the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) 13th Annual Conference on Clinical Practice Guidelines and Quality Cancer Care.

      "Ablation is a good alternative for small volume disease in cirrhotic liver," said Al B. Benson III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois.

      The new treatment algorithm -- now used throughout the world -- suggests ablation be used in patients who agree to surgery and in those who refuse open surgery.

      If the patient is amenable to surgery, but the lesion is found to be unresectable, Dr. Benson said the guidelines suggest ablation therapy and then further treatment, with the possibility of liver transplantation.

      For patients who are willing to undergo surgery, the guidelines suggest resection and then ablation, if and where necessary.

      Patients who do not agree to an open surgical procedure could be treated with chemotherapy or radiation or could undergo ablation therapy, generally performed percutaneously under radiological guidance.

      In cases where a patient is not a candidate for transplantation, ablation may be considered along with chemoembolisation techniques or enrolment in a clinical trial.

      Dr. Benson said that ablation procedures in localised hepatocellular carcinoma could employ several techniques, including radiofrequency ablation, cryoablation, microwave ablation, interstitial laser therapy, ethanol injection, or acetic acid injection.

      "Chemical or thermal ablation techniques require shorter hospitalisation and cause less damage to the cirrhotic liver," Dr. Benson said. Several studies appear to favour radiofrequency ablation over alcohol ablation therapy, he added.

      Minimally invasive techniques to tackle regional cancers include infusional therapy, chemoembolisation, bland embolisation, radioembolisation, and drug-eluting microspheres.

      "The embolisation therapies are designed to cut off blood supply to the tumour and allow for a longer dwell time of chemotherapeutic agents, and decrease systemic toxicity," he said.

      Selecting the best ablative or embolisation therapy, however, remains more art than science. "Well-performed comparative studies are needed," Dr. Benson concluded.

      [Presentation title: Update Hepatocellular Carcinoma Guidelines.]



      E-Mail this DGDispatch to a colleague   To print, use this version






      All contents Copyright (c) 1995-2008 Doctor's Guide Publishing Limited. All rights reserved.



      The NTK initiative. Physicians helping physicians identify Need-To-Know science
         Feedback
      Please rate this article: Strongly DISAGREE...Strongly AGREE NTK logo
      Question 1 - Physicians need to become aware of this information as soon as possible. Question 2 - This information is likely to have an impact on the way physicians practice medicine.
      1
      2
      3
      4
      5
      6
      7
      Send