PERCUTANEOUS ETHANOL INJECTION FOR THE TREATMENT OF HEPATIC-TUMORS - INDICATIONS, MECHANISM OF ACTION, TECHNIQUE, AND EFFICACY

Percutaneous injection of ethanol far treatment of hepatic tumors was first described by Sugiura et al. [1] in 1983. To date, reported exper ience with the procedure has focused mainly on therapy of hepatocellul ar carcinoma (HCC) [2-15], with little information available regarding its use in treating metastatic liver lesions [16]. Interest in this t echnique has grown recently as a possible means of treating patients w ith metastatic liver disease. The purpose of this perspective is to re view the indications, mechanism of action, technique, complications, a nd efficacy of percutaneous ethanol injection for liver tumor treatmen t.