Another treatment option for liver tumors is percutaneous ethanol injection (PEI).

The procedure
With ultrasound guidance, a thin needle is inserted through the skin and into the liver. Large quantities of pure alcohol are then injected into the tumor to destroy its cells. Typically, a primary liver tumor (HCC) is softer than a cirrhotic liver. This allows for injection of large volumes of ethanol into the tumor without it spreading into the healthy tissue or leaking out of the liver. Even so, PEI will almost always destroy some normal cells in the vicinity of the tumor.

In contrast to RFA, which usually requires one treatment, PEI requires multiple injections (an average of 3). The maximum size of tumor reliably treated is 3 cm, even with multiple injections.

Candidates for PEI
Not everyone is a candidate for PEI. The ideal patient has fewer than three HCC tumors, and each of this should be:

• Well-defined, with distinct margins
• Less than 3 cm in diameter
• Surrounded by a shell of scar tissue
• Not close to the surface of the liver

Just as important, candidates for PEI should not have any signs of chronic liver failure, such as ascites (buildup of fluid in the abdomen) or jaundice (a yellowish coloring of the skin that results from excess bile). Patients with liver failure would not be able to tolerate the alcohol injections.

Your team of Liver Tumor Program doctors at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson will help determine if PEI is a viable treatment option for you.

Contact us
To schedule an appointment with a Jefferson physician call 1-800-JEFF-NOW or click here.

To contact the Liver Tumor Program team at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson, please call 215-503-8752 and/or fax your records to 215-503-8755. We aim to schedule your first clinic visit within two weeks of your diagnosis being made and records being received.