New Liver Chemotherapy Bath Cancer Treatment Gives Hope

A new cancer therapy is giving hope to those with liver problems. In patients who have had their cancers originate or spread to their livers, the options for chemotherapy are limited. Dr. Brian Stedman, consultant interventional radiologist, explains the dangers with the organ. “Previously, the outlook for patients specifically suffering from cancer which has spread to the liver has been poor because standard chemotherapy’s effect is limited by the unwanted damage the drug causes to the rest of the body.”

The new treatment seeks to fix these issues so that the chemotherapy drugs do not end up throughout the body. The procedure works by inflating balloons to cut off the blood supply. The organ is then flooded with the chemotherapy drugs and soaks for a period of time. The drugs are then filtered out and the organ’s blood supply is released.

Stedman has preformed this treatment on two people, both of which are showing signs of tumor shrinkage. He also suggests that this new treatment could be used for other organ cancers, such as kidney cancer, pancreas cancer, and lung cancer.

Stedman says that this treatment is in its infancy and he was, “not sure that this is the finished product or the end of the story.” Similar techniques are being tried across the world.

Source: BBC