Effectiveness and Safety of CT-Guided ¹²⁵I Brachytherapy for Lung Metastasis from Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Yongxin Chen, Fei Gao, Lin Chen, Sheng Peng, Yingjie Huang, Yao Wang

Department of Interventional Radiology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer, Guangzhou, China ;State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Guangzhou, China.
Department of Interventional Radiology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer, Guangzhou, China State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Guangzhou, China.
Department of Interventional Radiology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer, Guangzhou, China;State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Guangzhou, China.

DOI: 10.4236/ojrad.2013.33026                

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.

Keywords

¹²⁵Iodine; Brachytherapy; Lung Metastasis; Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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