ABSTRACT
The basis underlying intra-arterial targeting of tumor is that hepatic neoplasms preferentially derive blood from an arterial source, whereas the majority of noncancerous liver is supplied by the portal vein.6"8 Taking advantage of this differential contribution, a number of image-guided catheter based therapies have become increasingly important in treating this patient population. Therapies such as transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE), transarterial embolization (TAE), radioembolization using yttrium-90 (Y90), and most recently, drug eluting beads (DEB) have all shown to provide survival benefits in selected patients. The objective of these liver directed therapies is to inflict lethal injury to the tumor while preserving normal liver parenchyma. In some instances, these therapies have been employed to bridge or downstage patients, otherwise deemed unresectable, to resection and transplantation.
