TITLE:
Effectiveness and Safety of CT-Guided 125I Brachytherapy for Lung Metastasis from Hepatocellular Carcinoma
AUTHORS:
Yongxin Chen, Fei Gao, Lin Chen, Sheng Peng, Yingjie Huang, Yao Wang
KEYWORDS:
125Iodine; Brachytherapy; Lung Metastasis; Hepatocellular Carcinoma
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Radiology,
Vol.3 No.3,
September
6,
2013
ABSTRACT: To retrospectively evaluate effectiveness and safety of CT-guided 125I brachytherapy in patients with lung metastasis from hepatocellular carcinoma, sixty lung metastatic lesions in 29 patients were percutaneously treated in 34 125I brachytherapy sessions. Each metastatic lesion was treated with computed tomographic (CT) guidance. Follow-up contrast material-enhanced CT scans were reviewed and the efficacy of treatment was evaluated. Months are counted from the first time of 125I brachytherapy and the median duration of follow-up was 11 months (ranging from 6 - 17 months). The local control rates after 3, 6, 10 and 15 months were 86.2, 71.4, 60.9 and 50.0% respectively. At the time of writing, ten patients are alive without evidence of recurrence at 11 - 15 months. The 10 patients presented good control of local tumor and no systemic recurrence, and survived throughout the follow-up period. Other 11 patients died of multiple hematogenous metastases 5 - 15 months after brachytherapy. A small amount of local hematoma occurred in 5 patients that involved applicator insertion through the lung. Four patients presented pneumothorax with pulmonary compression of 30% - 40% after the procedure and recovered after drainage. Two patients had minor displacement of radioactive seeds. Severe complications such as massive bleeding and radiation pneumonitis did not occur. So CT-guided 125I brachytherapy is effective and may be safely applied to lung metastasis from hepatocellular carcinoma.