Pros And Cons Of Interventional Radiology
Interventional Radiology (IR) is a fast growing and advancing radiology modality. With that growth comes new and innovative procedures, such as chemoembolization. With the introduction of chemoembolization for the treatment of, primarily, liver tumors, a question emerges; which radiologic modality is better: chemoembolization or traditional radiation therapy? While both chemoembolization and traditional radiation therapy have their benefits and obstacles, will chemoembolization be more effective at treating liver cancer?
Interventional Radiology (IR) first came about with the introduction of the first angiography preformed in 1923. Interventional Radiology, however, did not come into its own until 1953 when Dr. Sven-Ivar Seldinger was the first to prefect the angiography (named the Seldinger technique) by using a needle, exchange wire, and catheter (instead of large bore trocars that were used in the past) (Tang, 2914). Dr. Seldinger’s technique laid the foundation for Interventional Radiology, but it was not until 1964 when Charles Dotter proposed a new technique of percutaneous angioplasty, using balloon catheters and stent implants, that Interventional Radiology was formed. …show more content…
Chemoembolization has had some success with colon cancer, ocular melanoma, sarcomas, carcinoid, hepatoma, metastasis to the liver, and also primary tumors in other parts of the body (John Hopkins, 2018). However, chemoembolization does have some obstacles. Currently, chemoembolization is more designed to treat liver tumors, and has had only limited results on tumors in other areas of the body. Also, chemoembolization is designed as a palliative treatment (to relieve symptoms, improve quality of life, and to reduce the side effects of cancer treatments) and not necessarily as a curative treatment (Stanford Health Care,
Interventional Radiology (IR) first came about with the introduction of the first angiography preformed in 1923. Interventional Radiology, however, did not come into its own until 1953 when Dr. Sven-Ivar Seldinger was the first to prefect the angiography (named the Seldinger technique) by using a needle, exchange wire, and catheter (instead of large bore trocars that were used in the past) (Tang, 2914). Dr. Seldinger’s technique laid the foundation for Interventional Radiology, but it was not until 1964 when Charles Dotter proposed a new technique of percutaneous angioplasty, using balloon catheters and stent implants, that Interventional Radiology was formed. …show more content…
Chemoembolization has had some success with colon cancer, ocular melanoma, sarcomas, carcinoid, hepatoma, metastasis to the liver, and also primary tumors in other parts of the body (John Hopkins, 2018). However, chemoembolization does have some obstacles. Currently, chemoembolization is more designed to treat liver tumors, and has had only limited results on tumors in other areas of the body. Also, chemoembolization is designed as a palliative treatment (to relieve symptoms, improve quality of life, and to reduce the side effects of cancer treatments) and not necessarily as a curative treatment (Stanford Health Care,