Yttrium-90 Radioembolization of Hepatocellular Carcinoma and Metastatic Disease to the Liver

Yttrium-90 ( 90 Y) radioembolization is a catheter-based therapy that delivers internal radiation to hepatic tumors in the form of microspheres. 90 Y can be delivered to the hepatic tumor as either a constituent of a glass microsphere, TheraSphere ® , or as a biocompatible resin-based microsphere, SIR-Spheres ® . Once embedded within the tumor microcirculation, these microspheres emit β-radiation at therapeutic levels. While the technical aspects of radioembolization are quite complex, the collective clinical experience presented in the literature supports the use of 90 Y radioembolization for unresectable hepatic malignancies. KEYWORDS TheraSphere ® - SIR-Sphere ® - radioembolization - yttrium-90 - hepatocellular carcinoma - metastatic disease to the liver - liver cancer - liver tumor