A new minimally invasive therapy has come up recently and has shown promise for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. Hepatocellular Carcinoma, generally known as HCC, is the most common type of liver cancer in India. It is most commonly seen in people with chronic liver diseases such as cirrhosis, those suffering from diabetes, and those who drink extensive amounts of alcohol and have fat accumulated in the liver. It is the tenth most common cancer in India with more than 30,000 new local cases being diagnosed every year and is the eighth most common cause of cancer-related deaths in the country.
Hepatocellular Carcinoma Treatment
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The conventional treatments for hepatocellular carcinoma include surgical resection, radiofrequency ablation, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, targeted therapy, and clinical trials. However, the new B-TACE (Balloon Transarterial Chemoembolization) is more precise and will facilitate targeted delivery of chemotherapy drugs directly to the tumor. The new therapy is developed by a Japanese company named Temuro and is believed to be an advancement to TACE (Transcatheter Arterial Chemo-Embolisation). TACE is generally recommended for intermediate-level HCC, however, cases of a complete cure are extremely rare. From the introduction of B-TACE, it is expected that it will lead to a complete response in some of the patients with tumors up to 5cm in size. The company has claimed that this therapy would surely minimize damage to the surrounding tissue, and with improved response rates, it will take fewer cycles of treatment. The new therapy might be introduced in the treatment of other conditions like cholangiocarcinoma and benign tumors like hemangioma in the future.
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Drawbacks Of B-TACE
Though B-TACE would be an excellent choice of treatment for lesions of size 3cm-7cm, it is advised to not use this technique on tumors of size more than 8cm because of possible side effects. Another drawback of B-TACE is that it might not be affordable for all. The treatment cost of B-TACE might be approximately double what it is when using TACE.
Though the new therapy comes with its own set of positives and negatives, it still is an achievement in the right direction.