Intraarterial chemotherapy or chemoembolization for locally advanced and/or recurrent hepatic tumors: Evaluation of the feeding artery with an interventional CT system

Purpose: To evaluate the utility of an interventional CT system for intraar terial chemotherapy or chemoembolization for locally advanced and/or recurr ent hepatic tumors. Methods: Thirty-eight patients with locally advanced or recurrent hepatic t umors underwent 73 intraarterial contrast-enhanced CT (IA-CECT) examination s immediately before chemotherapy or chemoembolization. The degree of tumor vascularity on angiography and enhancement on IA-CECT was classified into three grades: no, mild, or marked vascularity. The IA-CECT grades were comp ared with the angiographic grades. Results: Twenty-nine (69%) of 42 examinations that were interpreted as havi ng no or mild vascularity on angiography were classified as marked enhancem ent on IA-CECT. Based on IA-CECT findings, the position of the catheter was changed in 14 (19%) of 73 CT examinations. The reasons for the reposition were as follows: weak or no enhancement of the tumor (n = 11) or strong enh ancement of the gallbladder wall (n = 3). The treatment strategy was change d in three patients (8%). No major complications relating to the interventi onal procedures were observed. Conclusions: IA-CECT is a reliable method when evaluating the perfusion of the tumor and adjacent normal tissues. The interventional CT system is usef ul for performing safe and effective intraarterial chemotherapy or chemoemb olization in patients with locally advanced and/or recurrent hepatic tumors .