Treating Liver Cancer in Dallas: SIR-Spheres®

The tumors characteristic of liver cancer are often too large or too numerous to remove via surgery or too invasive (meaning that they have worked their way into important arteries) to allow surgical resection.

This is where the specialized interventional radiology (IR) procedures provided by some of the best liver cancer doctors in Dallas at MTV IR are often useful. Their skills are often a perfect match for the treatment of otherwise inoperable cancers of the liver, because the IR procedures they use allow direct treatment of tumors that cannot be accessed surgically or via systemic chemotherapy. One such specialized treatment involves the use of SIR-Spheres® microspheres.

What exactly are SIR-Spheres microspheres and what do they treat?

SIR-Spheres microspheres are used to treat metastatic liver cancer, one of the deadliest forms of the disease. Colorectal cancer is the one of the leading causes of death in the US, and the most common site for this type of cancer to metastasize is the liver. A procedure called Selective Internal Radiation Therapy (SIRT) is considered a safe and effective method of delivering radiation therapy to treat colorectal cancer that has metastasized to the liver, and is often used in conjunction with systemic chemotherapy and other methods for treating liver cancer in Dallas.

How does the SIRT procedure work?

Using radiological assistance, a microcatheter is guided through the femoral artery into the liver's blood supply, where millions of tiny resin SIR-Spheres microspheres are released. These spheres contain minute amounts of the radioactive substance yttrium-90, which emit radiation for about two weeks. The procedure itself takes between an hour and an hour and a half, and is so gentle that patients are usually able to return home four to six hours later. There are few reported side effects, and one of the primary benefits of the procedure is that it can safely be combined with other forms of chemotherapy.

The advantage of using SIR-Spheres microspheres instead of external beam radiation therapy is that more potent doses of radiation can be delivered directly to the tumors, without affecting healthy cells in the vicinity. Besides offering patients with inoperable liver cancer an effective treatment option to control the spread of their tumors, SIRT and SIR-Spheres microspheres also help them to maintain a good quality of life.

To find out more about SIRT and SIR-Spheres microspheres, please look over the many in-depth articles about the best liver cancer treatment in Dallas we've posted at www.mtvir.com, or just give us a call directly at 469-447-4008. We'll be happy to answer any questions you might have.

Author Bio: Doctors from one of the Best Cancer Hospital in North Texas discuss the role that SIR-Spheres® microspheres play in treating liver cancer in Dallas.

For more information: http://www.mtvir.com