What is Interventional Oncology (IO)?
Interventional Radiology (IR) plays a critical role in the management of many different types of cancer. In fact, there is an entire subspecialized field of interventional radiology called interventional oncology (IO). We offer the full gamut of IO procedures to treat your disease with minimally invasive outpatient approaches, with less pain and similar results to traditional surgery.
Understanding the different IO procedures
Ablation: For certain sizes of tumors in the liver, lung or kidney, ablation using CT or ultrasound guidance can be performed and achieve equal results to traditional surgery. These ablations are usually temperature-based, and work by either freezing or heating up an area at the tip of a needle to kill tumors. This can be done as an outpatient with sedation, and patients can return to their normal activities the next day.
Embolization: In the liver and occasionally in the kidney, there are several situations where an embolization can provide similar or better outcomes compared to traditional surgical resections. If you have been diagnosed with a tumor of the liver or kidney or cancer from another organ has spread to the liver, embolization may be an option. Organs that often spread to the liver are the colon, rectum, breast, pancreas or skin. There are several different types of embolization, including bland, chemoembolization or yttrium-90 radioembolization.
Spine ablation/kyphoplasty: Occasionally, cancer can spread to the spine, causing significant pain. This pain is often described as severe enough to wake patients up in the middle of the night. In these cases, ablation followed by kyphoplasty is often an option. Kyphoplasty is a procedure where a small amount of cement is injected into the ablated level of the spine to provide stability to the diseased bone.
Port placement: A port is a small implanted venous access site that is very useful for patients who will constantly need IVs for treatment or frequent lab draws. A port is placed just under the collarbone so that it remains hidden underneath a shirt. This procedure takes less than a half hour, and the port can be used as soon as it is placed.
Has your oncologist recommended Interventional Radiology as a treatment option? Contact Summit IR to learn more about how an IO procedure may be the right option for you.