Experimental study on the efficacy of permanent occlusion of the hepatic artery in transarterial chemoembolization.

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of permanent occlusion of the hepatic arter y on the efficacy of transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) in an animal mo del. Material and Methods: 12 days after inoculation of the Morris hepatoma 3924 A in 15 male ACI rats, TACE with Mitomycin C (0.25 mg/kgBW) + Lipiodo l (0.2 ml/kgBW) without (n = 5) and with permanent occlusion of the hepatic artery (n = 5) was performed. Control group consisted of 5 rats. Tumor vol ume was determined by MRI (1.0 T, T1 [TR/TE, 400/14 ms]) before and 12 days after therapy. Results: Compared to the control group, TACE without and wi th permanent occlusion of the hepatic artery showed a significant reduced t umor growth after 12 days (p = 0.017 and p = 0.005). However, permanent occ lusion did not improve the retarding effect on tumor growth (p = 0.9). Conc lusion: The effectiveness of TACE in an animal model using a cytostatic-/li piodol-emulsion is not improved by permanent occlusion of the hepatic arter y.