Radioembolization with yttrium-90 (Y-90) microspheres could extend survival for patients who fail to respond to current first- and second-line treatments for colorectal cancer liver metastases.
A literature review found that approximately 50% of these patients have an overall survival of more than 12 months after Y-90 radioembolization (Journal of Nuclear Medicine, November 2013, Vol. 54:11, pp. 1890-1895).
Researchers at University Medical Center Utrecht in the Netherlands reviewed a total of 13 articles on Y-90 radioembolization as a monotherapy and 13 articles on Y-90 radioembolization combined with chemotherapy.
Disease control rates, such as complete response, partial response, and stable disease, ranged from 29% to 90% in the monotherapy studies, which included 901 patients.
In the combination studies, which included 472 patients, disease control rates ranged from 59% to 100%.
Y-90 radioembolization shows promise as a treatment option for this group of patients, who otherwise have no regular treatment options and a life expectancy of less than six months, said lead author Charlotte Rosenbaum, PhD, in a statement.
