Bronchial or Pulmonary Artery Chemoembolization for Unresectable and Unablatable Lung Metastases: A Phase I Clinical Trial.

Background Lung chemoembolization is an emerging treatment option for lung tumors, but the optimal embolic, drug, and technique are unknown. Purpose To determine the technical success rate and safety of bronchial or pulmonary artery chemoembolization of lung metastases using ethiodized oil, mitomycin, and microspheres. Materials and Methods Patients with unresectable and unablatable lung, endobronchial, or mediastinal metastases, who failed systemic chemotherapy, were enrolled in this prospective, single-center, single-arm, phase I clinical trial (December 2019-September 2020). Pulmonary and bronchial angiography was performed to determine the blood supply to the lung metastases. Based on the angiographic findings, bronchial or pulmonary artery chemoembolization was performed using an ethiodized oil and mitomycin emulsion, followed by microspheres. The primary objectives were technical success rate and safety, according to the National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events. CIs of proportions were estimated with the equal-tailed Jeffreys prior interval, and correlations were evaluated with the Spearman test. Results Ten participants (median age, 60 years; interquartile range, 52-70 years; six women) were evaluated. Nine of the 10 participants (90%) had lung metastases supplied by the bronchial artery, and one of the 10 participants (10%) had lung metastases supplied by the pulmonary artery. The technical success rate of intratumoral drug delivery was 10 of 10 (100%) (95% CI: 78, 100). There were no severe adverse events (95% CI: 0, 22). The response rate of treated tumors was one of 10 (10%) according to the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors and four of 10 (40%) according to the PET Response Criteria in Solid Tumors. Ethiodized oil retention at 4-6 weeks was correlated with reduced tumor size (ρ = -0.83, P = .003) and metabolic activity (ρ = -0.71, P = .03). Pharmacokinetics showed that 45% of the mitomycin dose underwent burst release in 2 minutes, and 55% of the dose was retained intratumorally with a half-life of more than 5 hours. The initial tumor-to-plasma ratio of mitomycin concentration was 380. Conclusion Lung chemoembolization was technically successful for the treatment of lung, mediastinal, and endobronchial metastases, with no severe adverse events. Clinical trial registration no. NCT04200417 © RSNA, 2021 Online supplemental material is available for this article. See also the editorial by Georgiades et al in this issue.

Factors Associated With Local Tumor Control and Complications After Thermal Ablation of Colorectal Cancer Liver Metastases: A 15-year Retrospective Cohort Study.

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this study was to identify risk factors associated with local tumor progression-free survival (LTPFS) and complications after colorectal liver metastases (CLM) thermal ablation (TA). PATIENTS AND METHODS: This retrospective analysis included 286 patients with 415 CLM undergoing TA (radiofrequency and microwave ablation) in 378 procedures from January 2003 to July 2017. Prior hepatic artery infusion (HAI), bevacizumab, pre-existing biliary dilatation, ablation modality, minimal ablation margin (MM), prior hepatectomy, CLM number, and size were analyzed as factors influencing complications and LTPFS. Statistical analysis included the Kaplan-Meier method, Cox proportional hazards model, competing risk analysis, univariate/multivariate logistic/exact logistic regressions, and the Fisher exact test. Complications were reported according to modified Society of Interventional Radiology guidelines. RESULTS: The median follow-up was 31 months. There was no LTP for MM > 10 mm. Smaller tumor size, increased MM, and prior hepatectomy correlated with longer LTPFS. The major complications occurred following 28 (7%) of 378 procedures. There were no biliary complications in HAI-naive patients, versus 11% in HAI patients (P < .001), of which 7% were major. Biliary complications predictors in HAI patients included biliary dilatation, bevacizumab, and MM > 10 mm. In HAI patients, ablation with 6 to 10 mm and > 10 mm MM resulted in major biliary complication rates of 4% and 21% (P = .0011), with corresponding LTP rates of 24% and 0% (P = .0033). In HAI-naive patients, the LTP rates for 6 to 10 mm and > 10 mm MM were 27% and 0%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: No LTP was seen for MM > 10 mm. Biliary complications occurred only in HAI patients, especially in those with biliary dilatation, bevacizumab, and MM > 10 mm. In HAI patients, MM of 6 to 10 mm resulted in 76% local tumor control and 4% major biliary complications incidence.

Autologous Blood Patch Injection versus Hydrogel Plug in CT-guided Lung Biopsy: A Prospective Randomized Trial.

Purpose To compare the effect of autologous blood patch injection (ABPI) with that of a hydrogel plug on the rate of pneumothorax at CT-guided percutaneous lung biopsy. Materials and Methods In this prospective randomized controlled trial ( https://ClinicalTrials.gov , NCT02224924), a noninferiority design was used for ABPI, with a 10% noninferiority margin when compared with the hydrogel plug, with the primary outcome of pneumothorax rate within 2 hours of biopsy. A type I error rate of 0.05 and 90% power were specified with a target study population of 552 participants (276 in each arm). From October 2014 to February 2017, all potential study participants referred for CT-guided lung biopsy (n = 2052) were assessed for enrollment. Results The data safety monitoring board recommended the trial be closed to accrual after an interim analysis met prespecified criteria for early stopping based on noninferiority. The final study group consisted of 453 participants who were randomly assigned to the ABPI (n = 226) or hydrogel plug (n = 227) arms. Of these, 407 underwent lung biopsy. Pneumothorax rates within 2 hours of biopsy were 21% (42 of 199) and 29% (60 of 208); chest tube rates were 9% (18 of 199) and 13% (27 of 208); and delayed pneumothorax rates within 2 weeks after biopsy were 1.4% (three of 199) and 1.5% (three of 208) in the ABPI and hydrogel plug arms, respectively. Conclusion Autologous blood patch injection is noninferior to a hydrogel plug regarding the rate of pneumothorax after CT-guided percutaneous lung biopsy. © RSNA, 2018 Online supplemental material is available for this article.

Long-term outcomes comparing surgery to embolization-ablation for treatment of solitary HCC<7 cm.

BACKGROUND: Resection has been the standard of care for patients with solitary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Transarterial embolization and percutaneous ablation are alternative therapies often reserved for suboptimal surgical candidates. Here we compare long-term outcomes of patients with solitary HCC treated with resection versus combined embo-ablation. METHODS: We previously reported a retrospective comparison of resection and embo-ablation in 73 patients with solitary HCC<7 cm after a median follow-up of 23 months. This study represents long-term updated follow-up over a median of 134 months. RESULTS: There was no difference in survival among Okuda I patients who underwent resection versus embo-ablation (66 vs 58 months, p=.39). There was no difference between the groups in the rate of distant intrahepatic (p=.35) or metastatic progression (p=.48). Surgical patients experienced more complications (p=.004), longer hospitalizations (p<.001), and were more likely to require hospital readmission within 30 days of discharge (p=.03). CONCLUSION: Over a median follow up of more than 10 years, we found no significant difference in overall survival of Okuda 1 patients with solitary HCC<7 cm who underwent surgical resection versus embo-ablation. Our data suggest that there may be a greater role for primary embo-ablation in the treatment of potentially resectable solitary HCC.

Rectal cancer.

These NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology provide recommendations for the management of rectal cancer, beginning with the clinical presentation of the patient to the primary care physician or gastroenterologist through diagnosis, pathologic staging, neoadjuvant treatment, surgical management, adjuvant treatment, surveillance, management of recurrent and metastatic disease, and survivorship. This discussion focuses on localized disease. The NCCN Rectal Cancer Panel believes that a multidisciplinary approach, including representation from gastroenterology, medical oncology, surgical oncology, radiation oncology, and radiology, is necessary for treating patients with rectal cancer.