First scans since finishing last round of chemo

[Bunty]

I got the results this week of the first scans since finishing 5 months of Abraxane in November. I was a little more anxious than usual (if that is possible?!), because my onc said he would refer me to an interventional radiologist if there was no progression (he came back from SABC where he had been further 'enlightened' about the potential benefits of radio frequency ablation.)

Anyway, the lung and liver tumours were stable, with the liver one perhaps slightly reduced further. So it would seem that the Herceptin has been kicked back into action again by the Abraxane, which was one of the outcomes we wanted. I also had a brain scan, and that was clear. So hopefully the next step will be to see the interventional radiologist to look at the options. One of the other oncs at the hospital is sending a number of his women with mets to the liver for Sirtex, which I only learned about recently. I searched the forums here, and there are not very many references to it.

I would be keen to hear anyone's experience of Sirtex, or RFA (which I have read about quite a bit on this site), or any other interventions that I could discuss with the doctors that you may be aware of, e.g., cyroblation.

Cheers Marie

[Jackie07]

Marie,

The abstract below mentioned about Sirtex:

Semin Radiat Oncol. 2011 Oct;21(4):294-302.
Radioembolization for primary and metastatic liver cancer.
Memon K, Lewandowski RJ, Kulik L, Riaz A, Mulcahy MF, Salem R.
Department of Radiology, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Chicago, IL 60611, USA.
... Radioembolization is a catheter-based liver-directed therapy that involves the injection of micron-sized embolic particles loaded with a radioisotope by use of percutaneous transarterial techniques. Cancer cells are preferentially supplied by arterial blood and normal hepatocytes by portal venous blood; therefore, radioembolization specifically targets tumor cells with a high dose of lethal radiation and spares healthy hepatocytes. The antitumor effect mostly comes from radiation rather than embolization. The most commonly used radioisotope is yttrium-90. The commercially available devices are TheraSphere (glass based; MDS Nordion, Ottawa, Canada) and SIR-Sphere (resin based; Sirtex, Lane Cove, Australia). The procedure is performed on an outpatient basis. The incidence of complications is comparatively less than other locoregional therapies and may include nausea, fatigue, abdominal pain, hepatic dysfunction, biliary injury, fibrosis, radiation pneumonitis, gastrointestinal ulcers, and vascular injury. However, these complications can be avoided by meticulous pretreatment assessment, careful patient selection, and adequate dosimetry. This article focuses on both the technical and clinical aspects of radioembolization with emphasis on patient selection, uses and complications.

Joan M mentioned both RFA and cryoablation in her 1-2-2012 post: ... had radiofrequency ablation, or RFA, which burned the recurrence (cryoablation, as well as chemoembolization is also used to treat liver nodules).

[JennyB]

Marie so glad you got good scan results sorry can't help with any info but hope you get lots to help with the decision making

Jenny

[NEDenise]

Marie,
Yay! So happy to hear about your good scans!
Cheers to you!!
Denise

[Pray]

Marie, How wonderful!! Gods blessings to you!