Minimal and Non-Invasive Liver Therapy

Liver diseases, especially chronic liver diseases are a growing problem. One third of the world's total population (2 billion) has been infected with hepatitis B virus of whom more than 350 million people (perhaps 400) are inflicted by chronic HBV and about 170 million by Hepatitis C. 20% of those patients with chronic liver diseases from viral hepatitis might develop a liver cirrhosis which might end in the need of a liver transplantation (LTx). Again 20% of the chronic hepatitis patients have the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), calling for liver resection.

Though, today, liver transplantation or resection are often the only option to cure some liver diseases (especially in a final stadium) and have become accepted liver therapies, the need is big for other techniques in hepatology, not only thanks to the donor-organ shortage for LTx.

There are several minimal-invasive techniques, most of which are still in the testing phase, but might be an alternative to a surgical approach for the local treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and hepatic metastases in patients who are considered poor candidates for surgical resection. Some of these techniques are:

Ablation

Ablation is the broadest field of minimal invasive treatments for liver cancer. The different techniques of ablation in hepatology reach from Radiofrequency Ablation, Microwave Ablation, and Laser Ablation, all destroying tumor by creating a hyperthermic injury, over Cryoablation that freezes the tumour to Ethanol Ablation, which achieves cellular death through direct toxicity.
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Embolization

The liver can be treated over time by chemoembolization with a combination of cytotoxic drugs and embolic agents, potentially reducing the rate of recurrence from radiologically occult tumor.
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Microspheres Cancer Treatments

Microspheres are minimal invasive treatments that can be used against liver cancer or as a bridge to surgery or transplantation.
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Parenchyma Transection

There are some new devices for liver resection relying on ultrasound, radiofrequency energy or a water jet.
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Hepatocyte Transplantation

The transplantation of hepatocytes may be another minimally invasive treatment for liver diseases.

The success rate for minimally invasive therapy is approaching that of surgical resection in some studies. However, there have been few reliable and randomized trials and today these treatments are rare in clinical practice.

Apart from the minimal invasive techniques, there are some new treatments that are completely non-invasive. These therapies include:

HIFU

HIFU is a new type of non-invasive cancer treatment using high frequency ultrasound waves delivered as a strong beam to a specific part of a cancer.
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Proton Beam Therapy

Proton Beam Therapy is another new radiation treatment against hepatocellular carcinoma. It delivers a high dose of radiation through a proton beam to a small area of the tumour.
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Contact us regarding "Minimal and Non-Invasive Liver Therapy"
or call Tilo Stolzke at +49 451 400 83 01 directly.

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