TheraSphere contains the radioactive medical isotope Y-90. In the European Union, it is licensed to treat both hepatocellular carcinoma, a form of primary liver cancer, and secondary liver cancer.
“We use selective internal radiation therapy because it allows us to perform a directed internal radiation of the tumour, with well acceptable radiation of the healthy liver,” said professor Andreas Bockisch, director of the Nuclear Medicine Clinic at Essen University Hospital. “We also have a long experience applying TheraSphere for liver cancer patients who present with portal vein thrombosis, so the hospital is able to provide care for this important segment of our patients.” According to a study published in the Journal of Hepatology in January 2008, approximately 35% of hepatocellular carcinoma patients are diagnosed with portal vein thrombosis.
“TheraSphere presents many benefits for patients,” said Jörg Schlaak, deputy Head of the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology. “Unlike other treatments, this procedure can be performed in about an hour, with a brief hospital stay, and it is usually well tolerated, with side effects that are not as severe as those associated with chemotherapy, for example. We know that quality of life and comfort are very important to patients with this disease, and to their families.”
The Essen team recently conducted a study involving 108 hepatocellular carcinoma patients, none of whom was eligible for conventional targeted therapies. Patients achieved a median overall survival of 16.4 months with minimal damage to the surrounding healthy tissue, even in patients with advanced liver cirrhosis or portal vein thrombosis. The study, which was published in the November 2010 issue of Hepatology, concluded that radioembolisation with TheraSphere is both safe and effective.
