A revolutionary therapy called SIR-Spheres has been launched in India for the treatment of inoperable liver cancer. Dr Jakobs Tobias, associate professor of Radiology, Department of Radiology, Munich University, Germany introduced SIR-Spheres, a selective internal radiation therapy, which has been found safe and effective in patients who have failed all standard-of-care chemotherapy options.

This treatment has been approved by US FDA and Drug Controller General of India recently. SIR-Spheres, the next generation of radioactive micro-spheres developed to treat liver cancer, are manufactured in Australia by Sirtex Medical, Inc.

The non-surgical outpatient therapy uses radioactive micro-spheres, called SIR-Spheres (Yttrium 90 resin micro-spheres), to deliver radiation directly to the site of the liver tumours. The micro-spheres which are tiny resin beads (SIR Spheres) that are coated with a radioactive atom (yttrium-90) are carried by the bloodstream directly to the tumors in the liver where they preferentially lodge in the small vessels feeding the tumor and deliver their dose of radiation.

Unlike conventional external beam radiation, which can only be applied to limited areas of the body, SIR-Spheres micro-spheres selectively irradiate the tumors and therefore have the ability to deliver more potent doses of radiation directly to the cancer cells over a longer period of time. The treatment is an outpatient procedure, and patients can go home the same day.

For this treatment, a radiologist places a long, thin tube into an artery in the groin area and guides it into the hepatic artery, which supplies blood to the liver. The doctor then injects SIR-Spheres which block some of the small blood vessels that feed the tumours and their radioactivity helps kill the cancer cells. This treatment slows the growth of liver metastases, relieves some of the symptoms they cause, and helps the patients live longer.

“Liver cancer is a fairly rare form of cancer in the western world but much more common in Africa and parts of Asia. Liver cancer is rapidly fatal and unfortunately most of the cases are diagnosed at a later stage. The experts certify that this is a safe and a very promising treatment option for patients with advanced colorectal cancer that has spread to the liver,” said Dr Tobias.

Liver cancer is one of the common cancers in India. As per reports, the incidence of liver cancer in India is 3.9 men per 100,000 populations with liver cancer in India (1993-97 Surveillance and Risk Assessment Division, CCDP, Health Canada). In Indian context, proportion of such patients is as high as 40,000 patients a year. This technique is being used in select hospitals in the country and the doctors believe this is a way to go for inoperable liver cancers.