Interventional Oncology: Advances in Cancer Treatment

If doctors have diagnosed you with liver cancer or another type of cancer, you want the best treatment available. Your patient journey will connect you with several medical professionals. While some treatments require open surgery, others involve minimally invasive procedures. Advances in medical care now allow interventional oncology (IO) professionals to perform even traditionally difficult and invasive cancer treatments on an outpatient basis. What IO therapies are available, and how can an interventional oncologist help you receive the best cancer care?

What Do Interventional Oncologists Do?

Interventional oncology doctors diagnose and treat cancer cells using minimally invasive techniques. These methods help interventional oncologists reduce the need for major surgery, shorten recovery time, minimize side effects, and improve patient outcomes.

How Interventional Oncology Works with Other Fields Like Interventional Radiology

The purpose of interventional oncology is to provide top cancer care with minimal surgery. Often a multidisciplinary approach helps to achieve this goal.

Imaging techniques that use sound waves, X-rays, or electromagnetic radiation provide a clearer view of what’s happening inside the body. As a result, interventional radiology experts often work alongside the oncology team. Depending on the chosen treatment method, radiation oncology specialists may also participate.

Interventional Oncology (IO) Procedures

IO treatments and procedures use cutting-edge techniques to deliver cancer therapies in the least invasive way possible. Some procedures serve diagnostic purposes, helping identify the affected area and determine if the cancer has spread. Other IO procedures directly treat tumors, targeting them wherever they are found—in the bone, lung, kidney, liver, or other areas.

Let’s examine some specific procedures that interventional oncology doctors have in their tool bags to provide the best possible cancer treatments for their patients.

Image-Guided Biopsies

An image-guided biopsy is a minimally invasive diagnostic test to obtain a tissue sample from a tumor. It involves using image guidance technologies like CT scans, magnetic resonance imaging, or ultrasound to precisely guide a needle to the location of the abnormal growth.

An image-guided biopsy may require you to fast for a few hours or avoid certain medications. Be sure to follow the detailed instructions of the oncologist and his care team. A local anesthetic is applied to the area and the doctor inserts the needle to reach the target area.

Doctors use various needles for different biopsies, such as fine needles, core needles, or a vacuum-assisted device. After retrieving the sample, they send it to a lab for analysis, which helps determine the next steps in the cancer care process. Patients typically stay for a few hours for observation before being released to return home.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is a targeted manner to treat cancer. Instead of systemic chemotherapy which affects the entire body, an interventional oncologist will deliver chemotherapy drugs directly to the tumor. The value of this treatment approach is minimized side effects and a maximized impact on the cancer cells.

Ablation

Ablation refers to a medical procedure that destroys or removes tissue. In the context of cancer treatments, abnormal cancer cells are the target of ablation treatments. Interventional oncologists may choose between two distinct but similar ablation methods to deal with tumors.

Radiofrequency Ablation

You may receive a mild sedative before the doctor uses image guidance to properly insert the needle into the target tissue. An electrode on the tip of the needle emits radio waves that generate heat, destroying the cells. Patients can usually go home the same day and may experience some pain or soreness at the treatment site.

Microwave Ablation

With microwave ablation, a similar method is used as in radiofrequency ablation. Electromagnetic energy rather than electrical current is used to heat and kill the tumor cells. Microwave ablation provides greater control and more predictable results than using radio waves.

Embolization

Embolization is a procedure that blocks blood flow to a specific area of the body. For example, it can cut off the blood supply to tumors, causing them to die. Interventional radiologists typically insert a catheter into an artery and use imaging tools to guide it. They then insert tiny coils, gel, or particles to block the blood vessel. While this procedure is often performed on an outpatient basis, patients may need to stay for observation.

A Minimally Invasive Example: Liver Cancer (Hepatocellular Carcinoma)

What can you expect from an interventional oncology team when it comes to your care? Let’s take a look at an example scenario that patients might follow if they are diagnosed with liver tumors.

To begin, the interventional oncologist will review the patient’s medical history. Next, a physical exam is in order. Interventional radiology will get involved with imaging studies using CT, MRI, or ultrasound to assess the extent and specific location of the tumor.

Based on the assessments and specific diagnosis, the cancer doctor will recommend the most appropriate treatment option. In this scenario, let’s say the oncologist recommends a transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) procedure to address the liver tumor.

In a TACE procedure is a minimally invasive way to deliver chemotherapy drugs directly to the tumor. A catheter is inserted into an artery in the groin or arm and guided to the hepatic artery, which supplies the liver.

Doctors mix chemotherapy drugs with an embolic agent and inject them into the artery. The drugs target the specific area, while the embolic agent seals the blood vessel to keep the drugs in place. This delivery method maximizes the chemo drugs’ effects on the tumor and reduces systemic side effects. It also starves the tumor of blood flow and nutrients.

After a short period of monitoring, the patient is free to return home. The interventional oncologist will continue to provide follow-up care with the help of their multidisciplinary team.

Conclusion

Interventional oncologists provide a valuable link in the chain of care for cancer patients. With multiple diagnostic and treatment options under their watchful eyes, they can help a patient receive the best care with optimal recovery expectations.