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A photomicrograph of 90Yttrium spheres, which are typically 25 microns in diameter, next to a single human hair for comparison
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90Yttrium is a therapeutic device that uses tiny beads to deliver radiation directly to liver tumors. The tiny beads (intrahepatic
microspheres) are minuscule in size – just one-third the diameter of a human hair! They’re embedded with a radioactive element
called
90Yttrium.
Millions of these beads can be injected into the bloodstream and then guided into the hepatic artery (the liver’s main blood
vessel). When they arrive in the liver, the radiation-laden beads get stuck within the smaller blood cells that sustain tumors
– not the larger vessels feeding healthy tissue. Tumor blood vessels are smaller in size than normal blood vessels, so radiation
can be delivered directly to tumors while sparing healthy tissue.
This treatment is relatively nontoxic, and is especially ideal for patients who have chronic hepatitis or cirrhosis and may
not have great hepatic reserve. Compared with traditional radiation or chemotherapy, 90Yttrium treatment appears to have a low level of side effects. And because it poses little danger to others, there’s no need
to remain isolated in the hospital; patients can interact with family and friends soon after the procedure. Another advantage:
a limited number of treatments may achieve the same therapeutic efficacy as multiple treatments with chemotherapy or chemoembolization.
Types of 90Yttrium therapies
There are two primary types of 90Yttrium therapies:
TheraSphere®. At the Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, TheraSphere® is currently used as an initial treatment
for certain patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) that cannot be resected, or removed. Our liver tumor service oncologist
has so far treated 150 patients with this form of therapy.
SIR-Spheres®. At Jefferson, SIR-Spheres® are currently used as treatment for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer that cannot be
resected, or removed, and has failed to respond to systemic chemotherapy. . Our liver tumor service oncologist has so far
treated 22 patients with this form of therapy.
The SIR-Spheres® are biocompatible radioactive microspheres that emit 90Yttrium and are delivered through the skin into the hepatic artery, which feeds tumors in the liver. A single dose of FUDR
chemotherapy is injected into the liver during the same treatment session as the SIR-Spheres®.
Typically, patients receiving either TheraSphere® or SIR-Spheres® treatment for liver tumors spend one night at the hospital
and are sent home the next morning
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.
