Interventional Radiologists Use Oil Chemistry to Starve Tumors
October 1, 2003
At Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, a new, minimally invasive procedure called chemo-embolization has been developed as a promising treatment for liver cancer patients. Interventional radiologists -- radiation physicians who perform surgical procedures -- inject a mixture of chemotherapy drugs and an oily liquid through a catheter directly to the tumor. The oil droplets cut off blood flow and trap chemotherapy drugs in the tumor. Both help kill cancer cells.