- Interventional radiology has emerged as a pillar in cancer treatment, with hepatocellular carcinoma being one of the most common to be treated in this way.
- Liver cancer is the third most deadly type of cancer in Mexico.
- Benefits include faster recovery and reduced costs for patients and hospitals in well-selected and early disease cases.
In the framework of the month of commemoration of the World Cancer Day which takes place in February, various experts met to discuss the subject. One of the points on which they agreed is that the interventional radiologywhich is a group of minimally invasive treatments and procedures, has emerged as a mainstay in the treatment of liver cancer, which is the third deadliest type of cancer in Mexico.
Benefits of Interventional Radiology
This type of procedure, which today can treat patients with hepatocellular carcinomais carried out by interventional radiologists and allows them to perform the procedures in a less invasive and faster way and can be performed on an outpatient basis, freeing up beds, optimizing resources in the country’s hospitals.
Other of its benefits include reducing readmissions due to complications, a faster recovery time, as well as an improvement in the prognosis and quality of life of patients. Patients with early disease can achieve cure rates similar to surgery with less morbidity.
In patients at an intermediate stage of the disease, endovascular procedures allow increase survival when compared to supportive treatment.
Alternative for the treatment of tumors
He Dr. Jesus Alejandro Gabutti, Interventional Radiologist at the Salvador Zubirán National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition, explained that with these types of interventions physicians can reach and treat tumors in ways that are not possible with many other treatment options. However, he commented that it is necessary to carry out an evaluation of the tumor, in order to define if the patient is a candidate for receiving this type of treatment.
For those patients who are candidates for this type of treatment, the procedure involves entering the arteries to reach the area where the tumor is located. One of the types of cancer that can be treated is hepatocellular carcinoma, which is most common type of liver cancer in Mexico.
Late diagnosis is very common, so specialists stress the importance of prevention since early detection in high-risk patients improves life expectancy.
“Liver cancer is silent, patients ignore risk factors and symptoms because they do not identify them in time and when they are treated, it is already too late.”
Currently, at the Salvador Zubirán National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition, around 100 therapeutic procedures are carried out on patients with liver cancer, with a trend of 30% annual increase.
The interventional radiology it can also be used in combination with other treatments to increase its effectiveness. The techniques used can help reduce the size of tumors and it is also ideal for those people who are not candidates for complex surgery. Today, having more forms of care for patients demonstrates progress in dealing with the continuous increase in cancer in the world population.
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