Results on the Evaluation of Liver and Spleen Volumes After Radioembolization

Background: Yttrium-90 radioembolization, TheraSpheres, or SIR-Spheres is being used to treat inoperable hepatic metastatic disease, hepatocellular cancer, and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. There is a certain amount of microvascular injury that occurs in the non-target parts of the liver secondary to the effect of the radiation. Objective: To evaluate the magnitude of the damage to normal liver parenchyma by comparing the volume of the liver and spleen before and after radioembolization. In addition, the authors evaluated the effect of hepatotoxic chemotherapy on these livers after yttrium-90 therapy. Design/Participants: This is a retrospective review of a database of patients treated with yttrium-90 or SIR-Spheres. Methods: 37 patients with whole-liver treatment were included. The liver and spleen volumes as well as several laboratory tests were compared to baseline at 3, 6, and 9 months after radioembolization with sequential CT scans used to evaluate liver and spleen volumes: more...