Y-90 radioembolization effectively treats metastatic breast cancer

Breast cancer metastases that have spread to the liver have been found to be treated successfully with yttrium-90 (Y-90) radioembolization, which led to stabilized disease in 98.5 percent of liver tumors, according to procedings of the Society of Interventional Radiology's 39th Annual Scientific Meeting held March 22-27 in San Diego.

This is the largest study of its kind and includes reports of 75 women with end-of-the-line chemotherapy-resistant breast cancer liver metastases. These cases showed too many metastases or too large a metastases to treat with more conventional treatment.

"Although this is not a cure, Y-90 radioembolization can shrink liver tumors, relieve painful symptoms, improve the quality of life and potentially extend survival," said Robert J. Lewandowski, MD, study co-author and associate professor of radiology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, according to an SIR release. "While patient selection is important, the therapy is not limited by tumor size, shape, location or number, and it can ease the severity of disease in patients who cannot be treated effectively with other approaches," he said.

Treatment with image-guided Y-90 radioembolization showed low toxicity and stabilization of disease in the majority of metastases. A total of 24 women saw a 30 percent reduction in tumor size.

"We're looking to gain maximal tumor control while minimizing toxicity and preserving quality of life," the researcher added.

Further study is required to expand evidence of the effectiveness of Y-90 treatment for metastatic breast to the liver.