'Chemo bead' therapy for liver cancer

New Haven, Connecticut (WTNH) - A new chapter in the battle against cancer draws patients from around the country to Connecticut.

They are coming to the Hospital of St. Raphael for a fairly new targeted therapy for liver cancer, which involves microscopic beads delivering chemotherapy right to the tumor.

Doctors now have a fairly new weapon in their arsenal to kill liver tumors. These are drug-eluding beads, or chemo beads.

"These microscopic beads, which are combined with chemotherapy, are injected through that catheter directly into the liver tumor,” Dr.Helton said.

Dr. W. Scott Helton -- Chief of Surgery at the Hospital of St. Raphael -- is a leading liver specialist. He says the innovative approach is a huge leap forward.

"What's really fascinating about this particular approach is the drug that's being delivered to this tumor, up until this time these tumors were highly resistant to this particular drug, but when delivered in this fashion, it’s extremely effective."

Dr. Scott Helton explains how it works.

"This illustrates the catheter having been placed in the artery that’s feeding the tumor and now the beads are being injected,” Dr. Helton demonstrated. "And here the beads are going and they plug the blood vessel and now they are releasing their chemotherapy."

Slowly over two weeks time, the cancer cells will die off.

"The blood vessels that used to supply the tumor are all plugged, so there is no more blood supply going to it and it’s now a ghost lesion,” he continued.

The beads can be used alone but Dr. Helton says depending on the size of the tumor, it can be more effective when combined with other therapies such as this alcohol injecting needle.

"Liver cancer in particular is extremely sensitive to alcohol. It kills it on contact,” Dr, Helton said. “The chemo beads make it more permeable so that the alcohol can diffuse throughout the tumor."

The key here is detecting the liver tumor early before it spreads outside the liver.

There are several benefits to using the microscopic beads loaded with chemotherapy. One is it is less toxic, meaning fewer side affects for patients. The other is it is also less invasive because it's an outpatient procedure.

Dr. Helton says it is designed for patients with a high-risk for surgery and for those which surgery would not be of any benefit.