A Unique Case of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Treated with Radiofrequency Ablation with More than 12 Years Overall Survival: A Case Report

The case of a 72-year-old male patient with HCC is presented in whom percutaneous RFA was used as the sole first-line anticancer treatment, since he denied having partial hepatectomy. The patient underwent RFA two more times, at 1.5 years for treating a local tumor progression at the initial ablation site and at 11 years after the first session for treating a new remote intrahepatic recurrence. He revealed a long-term survival of more than 12 years so far and still remains in excellent clinical status

Interventional oncology procedures for breast cancer metastatic disease: current role and clinical applications

Worldwide, breast cancer constitutes the most common malignant neoplasm among females, impacting 2.1 million women annually. Interventional oncology techniques have been recently added as an additional therapeutic and palliative alternative in breast cancer metastatic disease, concerning mainly osseous, liver, and lung metastasis. In the current literature, there are reports of promising results and documented efficacy regarding the ablation of liver and lung metastasis from breast carcinoma, transarterial embolization or radioembolization, as well as the treatment of osseous metastatic disease. These literature studies are limited by the heterogeneity of breast cancer disease, the evaluation of variable different parameters, as well as the retrospective nature in most of the cases. Consequently, dedicated prospective series and randomized studies are required to identify the role of minimally invasive local therapies of interventional oncology armamentarium. The present review paper focuses upon the current role of interventional oncology techniques for the curative or palliative treatment of metastatic breast cancer disease. The purpose of this review paper is to present the current minimally invasive procedures in the treatment of metastatic breast disease, including local control rates and survival rates

Vertebral Augmentation: Is It Time to Get Past the Pain? A Consensus Statement from the Sardinia Spine and Stroke Congress

Vertebral augmentation has been used to treat painful vertebral compression fractures and metastatic lesions in millions of patients around the world. An international group of subject matter experts have considered the evidence, including but not limited to mortality. These considerations led them to ask whether it is appropriate to allow the subjective measure of pain to so dominate the clinical decision of whether to proceed with augmentation. The discussions that ensued are related below

Computed Tomography and Ultrasounds for the Follow-up of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Ablation: What You Need to Know

Image-guided tumor ablation provides curative treatment in properly selected patients or appropriate therapeutic options whenever surgical techniques are precluded. Tumor response assessment post ablation is important in determining treatment success and future therapy. Accurate interpretation of post-ablation imaging findings is crucial for therapeutic and follow-up strategies. Computed Tomography (CT) and Ultrasound (US) play important roles in patients’ follow-up post liver thermal ablation therapies. Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) can provide valuable information on the ablation effects faster and at a lower cost than computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging. However, a disadvantage is that the technique cannot examine total liver parenchyma for disease progression as CT and Magnetic Resonance (MR) imaging can. Follow-up strategies for assessment of tumor response includes contrast enhanced multiphasic (non-contrast, arterial, portal, delayed phases) imaging with Computed Tomography at three, six, and 12 months post ablation session and annually ever since in order to prove sustained effectiveness of the ablation or detect progression

Percutaneous bipolar radiofrequency ablation for spine metastatic lesions

PurposeThe purpose of this review is to become familiar with the most common indications for imaging guided percutaneous bipolar radiofrequency ablation, to learn about different technical considerations during performance providing the current evidence. Controversies concerning products will be addressed.MethodsWe performed a literature review excluding non-English studies and case reports. All references of the obtained articles were also evaluated for any additional information.ResultsRFA achieves cytotoxicity by raising target area temperatures above 60 degrees C, and may be used to achieve total necrosis of lesions smaller than 3 cm in diameter, to debulk and reduce the pain associated with larger lesions, to prevent pathological fractures due to progressive osteolysis or for cavity creation aiming for targeted cement delivery in case of posterior vertebral wall breaching. Protective ancillary techniques should be used in order to increase safety and augment efficacy of RFA in the spine.ConclusionPercutaneous radiofrequency ablation of vertebral lesions is a reproducible, successful and safe procedure. Ablation should be combined with vertebral augmentation in all cases. In order to optimize maximum efficacy a patient- and a lesion-tailored approach should both be offered focusing upon clinical and performance status along with life expectancy of the patient as well as upon lesion characteristics

Percutaneous, Imaging-Guided Biopsy of Bone Metastases

Approximately 70% of cancer patients will eventually develop bone metastases. Spine, due to the abundance of red marrow in the vertebral bodies and the communication of deep thoracic-pelvic veins with valve-less vertebral venous plexuses, is the most common site of osseous metastatic disease. Open biopsies run the risk of destabilizing an already diseased spinal or peripheral skeleton segment. Percutaneous biopsies obviate such issues and provide immediate confirmation of correct needle location in the area of interest. Indications for percutaneous bone biopsy include lesion characterization, optimal treatment and tumor recurrence identification, as well as tumor response and recurrence rate prediction. Predicting recurrence in curative cases could help in treatment stratification, identification, and validation of new targets. The overall accuracy of percutaneous biopsy is 90–95%; higher positive recovery rates govern biopsy of osteolytic lesions. The rate of complications for percutaneous biopsy approaches is <5%. The purpose of this review is to provide information about performing bone biopsy and what to expect from it as well as choosing the appropriate imaging guidance. Additionally, factors governing the appropriate needle trajectory that would likely give the greatest diagnostic yield and choice of the most appropriate biopsy system and type of anesthesia will be addressed

Percutaneous Bone and Soft Tissue Biopsies: An Illustrative Approach

Even in pandemic times cancer remains one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Spine and peripheral skeleton constitute a common location for metastatic disease whilst numerous sarcomatous and other primary cancers may be depicted in the musculoskeletal system. Tissue sampling is necessary for histopathological identification as well as for molecular profiling in order to personalize cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment; in addition cultures of bone and soft tissue sampling contribute to identifying pathogens in order to provide the most appropriate systemic therapy. Performing an open surgical biopsy increases morbidity and mortality while at the same time runs the risk of destabilizing a pathologic segment. Imaging guidance ensures high safety and efficacy rates and contributes to the minimally invasive character of percutaneous biopsy by providing immediate confirmation of correct needle location in the area of interest. Selecting the imaging guidance method which will visualize the target lesion and the needle trajectory as well as the largest possible needle biopsy that can maximize the diagnostic yield is of outmost importance for high safety and efficacy rates. The purpose of the present review is to provide a comprehensive, current overview of percutaneous, imaging guided biopsy in the spine and peripheral skeleton, to become familiar with the most common indications, to learn about different technical considerations during performance and to provide the current evidence. Controversies concerning products will be addressed. (C) 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Clinical Outcome and Safety of Multilevel Vertebroplasty: Clinical Experience and Results

To compare safety and efficacy of percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP) when treating up to three vertebrae or more than three vertebrae per session. We prospectively compared two groups of patients with symptomatic vertebral fractures who had no significant response to conservative therapy. Pathologic substrate included osteoporosis (n = 77), metastasis (n = 24), multiple myeloma (n = 13), hemangioma (n = 15), and lymphoma (n = 1). Group A patients (n = 94) underwent PVP of up to three treated vertebrae (n = 188). Group B patients (n = 36) underwent PVP with more than three treated vertebrae per session (n = 220). Decreased pain and improved mobility were recorded the day after surgery and at 12 and 24 months after surgery per clinical evaluation and the use of numeric visual scales (NVS): the Greek Brief Pain Inventory, a linear analogue self-assessment questionnaire, and a World Health Organization questionnaire. Group A presented with a mean pain score of 7.9 +/- A 1.1 NVS units before PVP, which decreased to 2.1 +/- A 1.6, 2.0 +/- A 1.5 and 2.0 +/- A 1.5 NVS units the day after surgery and at 12 and 24 months after surgery, respectively. Group B presented with a mean pain score of 8.1 +/- A 1.3 NVS units before PVP, which decreased to 2.2 +/- A 1.3, 2.0 +/- A 1.5, and 2.1 +/- A 1.6 NVS units the day after surgery and at 12 and 24 months after surgery, respectively. Overall pain decrease and mobility improvement throughout the follow-up period presented no statistical significance neither between the two groups nor between different underlying aetiology. Reported cement leakages presented no statistical significance between the two groups (p = 0.365). PVP is an efficient and safe technique for symptomatic vertebral fractures independently of the vertebrae number treated per session