The new treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma

We performed intrahepatic arterial infusion of 131I-labelled Lipiodol (131I-Lipiodol) as an internal radiation therapy in twenty patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Tumor sizes were reduced in all attempted patients, and serum AFP levels were also decreased in the patients with high levels of serum AFP. Furthermore, the resected specimens of the tumors revealed complete or nearly complete necrosis in 2 patients who were underwent the surgical resection after the treatment. No significant side effects were observed in all attempted patients. These results suggest that intrahepatic arterial infusion of 131I-Lipiodol is a safe and effective therapeutic method for HCC. (author)