Survival Outcomes of a Salvage Patient Population after Radioembolization of Hepatic Metastases with Yttrium-90 Microspheres

PURPOSE: To determine in a retrospective study the potential benefit on survival outcomes of radioembolization using yttrium-90 (Y-90) resin microspheres in a cohort of patients presenting with chemotherapy-refractory liver metastases, primarily from colorectal cancer (CRC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Over 3 years, 249 patients were referred to the authors' center to determine suitability for radioembolization as treatment for hepatic metastases. All patients were defined as salvage, having failed first-line and second-line chemotherapies. These patients were divided into group 1 (CRC) and group 2 (all other cancers, eg, breast, neuroendocrine) and assessed for overall survival (OS) as a whole and according to group. RESULTS: Using Y-90 resin microspheres, 208 patients were treated, undergoing 223 radioembolization treatments. The median OS was 8.3 months for the whole cohort, 7.9 months for group 1, and 8.7 months for group 2. At the 3-month follow-up, there was an overall adverse event rate of 9%. At the end of the data collection period, 62 patients were still alive. CONCLUSIONS: Radioembolization shows promise as an effective and safe treatment for patients with chemotherapy-refractory hepatic metastases providing an extension to survival in the salvage setting.