New treatment for liver cancer

A new treatment being used by the LIJ Medical Center is giving liver cancer patients a longer survival time while also enabling them to sustain the quality of their life.
The microsphere treatment, SIR-Spheres, delivers microscopic radioactive spheres directly into tumors and is able to deliver as much as 40 times more radiation than traditional radiotherapy. In the process, healthy liver tissue remains “relatively unaffected.”
“SIR-Spheres is a powerful weapon against one of the deadliest forms of cancer,” said Dr. David Siegel, the chief of interventional radiology at LIJ Medical Center. “In the past, we were able to offer these patients few, if any, treatment options. SIR-Spheres have been proven to extend patient survival and allow patients to maintain a good quality of life.”
The treatment, which is done as an outpatient procedure, is used for inoperable cancers, whether they are primary liver cancers or metastic cancer that spread to the liver.
The average survival rate of more than 200 patients who had the therapy who were part of a study found was over 10 months.
Aside from LIJ Medical Center, there is only one other hospital in New York State that uses this treatment. The team using the technology is led by interventional radiologist Dr. Igor Lobko, who works closely with other doctors such as radiation oncologist Dr. John DelRowe and Dr. Christopher Palestro, who specializes in nuclear medicine. The team also receives support from the medical and surgical oncologist at LIJ.