Severance Hospital said it recently marked a milestone of 500 liver cancer radioembolization procedures. 

Radioembolization for liver cancer, a minimally invasive treatment, involves the insertion of a catheter into the femoral artery of the leg, guiding it to the hepatic artery, and injecting microspheres containing radioisotopes into the blood vessels that supply oxygen and nutrients to the liver cancer. The radioisotopes then target the microvessels of the liver cancer and emit beta rays to eradicate the tumor.

Early detection of liver cancer allows for surgical options like resection and transplantation. However, surgery becomes challenging in advanced stages of the disease. In such cases, hepatic artery chemoembolization or chemotherapy is typically administered.

The principle of hepatic artery chemoembolization is similar to radioembolization, but instead of using radioactive isotopes, anticancer drugs are infused. Due to the administration of anticancer drugs, patients may experience side effects such as fever, vomiting, and loss of appetite following the procedure. Therefore, it may be challenging to utilize chemoembolization in patients with large tumors or older adult patients.

Side effects such as fever, vomiting, and loss of appetite are rare with radioembolization. Unlike external beam radiation therapy, which can impact other organs or normal tissues along the radiation path, radioactive substances can be precisely injected into the liver cancer area. These advantages allow for the possibility of surgery or transplantation after achieving favorable staging. Typically, a single procedure yields effective results without side effects. The majority of patients can return home the day after the procedure.

Severance Hospital recently reached a milestone with the completion of its 500th radioembolization procedure, marking a journey that began in 2009 under the guidance of Professors Won Jong-yoon and Kim Kyung-min. The procedure gained health insurance coverage at the end of 2020, leading to a steady rise in the number of patients opting for radioembolization. The Liver Cancer Center at Severance Hospital conducts weekly multidisciplinary meetings involving specialists from gastroenterology, surgery, radiology, and radiation oncology to tailor the most suitable treatment plans for patients.

"The primary advantage of radioembolization is its ability to target liver cancer while preserving healthy liver tissue," said Professor Kim Kyung-min of radiology at Severance Hospital. "It's an effective treatment with a minimal occurrence of side effects,"

Kim Do-young, head of the Liver Cancer Center at Yonsei Cancer Center at Severance Hospital, said, “We are committed to furthering the application of personalized radioembolization for each patient in liver cancer treatment, and we aim to develop strategies to complement other therapies.”