Drug Delivery Through the Ophthalmic Artery Successful in Advanced Retinoblastoma Pediatric Patients

WASHINGTON, DC -- March 26, 2008 -- A new interventional radiology treatment successfully treats advanced retinoblastoma in children and often spares these patients from having their eyes surgically removed, researchers reported here at the Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) 33rd Annual Scientific Meeting.

Retinoblastoma is the seventh most common pediatric cancer, with 80% being diagnosed in children aged less than 3 years. Approximately 350 new cases are diagnosed each year in the United States and 40% of patients have the genetic form. Five-year survival is 98% in the United States and less than 50% in third-world countries, said Pierre Gobin, MD, Attending Radiologist, Professor of Radiology and Neurosurgery, and Director of Interventional Neuroradiology, New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, New York, New York.

source: Dctors Guide

Cryoablation of Kidney Tumour Appears Successful With Few Complications: Presented at SIR

Ed Susman

WASHINGTON, DC -- March 25, 2008 -- Treatment of kidney tumours by cryoablation successfully destroys the lesions without causing major complications for the patients, researchers reported here at the Society of Interventional Radiology [SIR] 33rd Annual Scientific Meeting.

Percutaneous cryoablation using computed tomography (CT) guidance is a viable treatment option for selected small renal cell tumours and offers good short-term results and no major complications, said investigator Mark A. Gibson, MD, Resident in Diagnostic Radiology, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, Virginia.

source: Doctors Guide

Trellis® Catheter Removes Blood Clots Quickly, Restoring Blood Flow in 771 Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) Patients

Washington, D.C. – March 19, 2008 – Registry clinical data presented this week at the Society of Interventional Radiology’s 33rd Annual Scientific Meeting shows DVT treatment with the Trellis® Peripheral Infusion System from Bacchus Vascular, Inc. (Santa Clara, CA) successfully breaks up the blood clot in most patients in about 20 minutes.

This technique restores blood flow more quickly and safely than current catheter-directed thrombolysis (CDT) techniques. It provides an important adjunct to the standard therapy of anti-coagulation alone, which is intended to prevent future clots but does not break up the existing clot.

source: Bacchus Vascular

Trellis(R) Catheter Removes Blood Clots Quickly, Restoring Blood Flow In 771 Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) Patients

Registry clinical data presented this week at the Society of Interventional Radiology's 33rd Annual Scientific Meeting shows DVT treatment with the Trellis(R) Peripheral Infusion System from Bacchus Vascular, Inc. (Santa Clara, CA) successfully breaks up the blood clot in most patients in about 20 minutes.

This technique restores blood flow more quickly and safely than current catheter-directed thrombolysis (CDT) techniques. It provides an important adjunct to the standard therapy of anti-coagulation alone, which is intended to prevent future clots but does not break up the existing clot.

source: MediLexicon

Foam For Varicose Veins Found To Be Safe In Preliminary Results From Phase 2 Trial

A small group of patients with a common heart defect who were treated for varicose veins with an injectable microfoam experienced no neurological, visual or cardiac changes as a result of the treatment, according to preliminary results from a phase II trial. The results were presented in Washington, D.C., at the annual scientific meeting of the Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR).

Injectable foams are usually made by mixing a sclerosant, an irritant that causes damage to the vein wall and subsequent scarring, with room air. Sclerosant foams have been a standard treatment since 1997 for spider veins and small varicose veins. Varisolve®, a foam made with carbon dioxide, is relatively painless compared to other sclerosants, which can cause burning, said John D. Regan, M.D., clinical director of the Interventional Section in the Department of Radiology at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.

source: Medical News Today

Treatment Gives Lung Cancer Patients With Inoperable Tumors Two Years Or More

Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) -- an interventional treatment that "cooks" and kills lung cancer tumors with heat -- greatly improves survival time from primary or metastatic inoperable lung tumors, according to a study released at the Society of Interventional Radiology's 33rd Annual Scientific Meeting. Of the 244 patients suffering from lung metastases (195 patients) or primary non-small cell lung cancer (49 patients), 70 percent were still alive at two years, including 72 percent for lung metastases and 64 percent for primary lung cancer.

These survival results are similar to surgical results from other studies, but the interventional treatment is less invasive and has far fewer side effects and less recovery time. The researchers found that RFA often can completely destroy the primary tumor and, therefore, extend a patient's survival and greatly improve his or her quality of life. Survival thus becomes dependent on the extent of disease elsewhere in the body.

source: Medical News Today

Few Women Hear About Uterine Fibroid Embolization Treatment

Washington, D.C. (March 18, 2008)—A study presented today at
the Society of Interventional Radiology’s 33rd Annual Scientific
Meeting shows of 105 patients in the Atlanta metro area, only
18 percent of the women who saw a private practice
gynecologist were told about uterine fibroid embolization (UFE),
a minimally invasive treatment for uterine fibroids provided by
interventional radiologists. UFE is a safe, effective established
treatment that has been widely available for the past decade and
is covered by insurance.

The majority of women who sought treatment from their private
practice gynecologists for uterine fibroids were only offered
hysterectomy or myomectomy surgery, which is provided by
gynecologists. However, Kaiser Permanente, which standardizes
many medical protocols, has its gynecologists discuss all the
treatment options with their patients, including UFE.

source: Society of Interventional Radiology

New Interventional Radiology Treatment Shows Hope for People With Complications from Bone Marrow, Stem Cell Tranplants

Newswise — The standard treatment to treat graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) after bone marrow or cord blood transplant is intravenous (IV) steroids that alter the immune response; however, it is not always effective and failure results in very high mortality. In a study released today, 15 patients who failed standard treatment were given a high dose of steroids directly to the affected organ. By delivering the steroids via catheter to the arteries that are supplying the organs affected by GVHD, a much higher, more effective dose can be given because the rest of the body is spared from the steroid’s side effects.

“Overall, fewer than 30 percent of patients with steroid-resistant GVHD respond completely or partially to the standard IV treatment, and their chance of living one year is 15 percent or less. This interventional radiology treatment can be life-saving for these people,” said Joshua L. Weintraub, M.D., chief of the Division of Vascular and Interventional Radiology at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City.

source: Newswise

Breakthrough Treatment For Severe Frostbite Saves Limbs

Using imaging to visualize areas lacking blood flow and deliver drugs via catheter, interventional radiologists are reopening recently frozen, clotted arteries with clot-busting and anti-spasmodic drugs. The people in a recent prospective trial had severely frostbitten hands and feet (with tissue frozen to the bone and damage occurring deep in muscles, tendons, nerves and blood vessels). Typically this leads to gangrene and loss of limbs. In severe frostbite, the blood vessels are affected and blood flow is blocked. After thawing and re-warming, small clots form. Spasm of the injured arteries further impedes flow to the smallest vessels of the limbs.

The standard treatment for frostbite -- typically involving re-warming the affected area and, in severe cases, amputation -- hasn't changed for decades. Interventional radiologists used angiography, an X-ray exam of the arteries and veins, to confirm loss of blood flow to a patients hand or toes, then intra-arterial catheters to directly deliver drugs to dissolve the blood clots and relax the arteries' muscular walls. This treatment was significantly successful in preventing amputation and saving limbs, according to a study released at the Society of Interventional Radiology's 33rd Annual Scientific Meeting.

source: MedicalNewsToday