Short-term efficacy and safety of CT-guided radioactive 125I seeds implantation for the treatment of primary liver cancer

Objective To investigate the short-term efficacy and safety of 125I seeds implantation in the treatment of primary liver cancer.Methods A total of 75 lesions (16 with the longest diameter of 5 cm or less,the longest diameter of remaining lesions greater than 5 cm) were derived from 63 patients with primary liver cancer who underwent CT-guided 125I seeds implantation in The First Affiliated Hospital,Sun Yat-sen University and The 458th Military Hospital between April 2010 and March 2011.The efficacy was determined at 2 months postoperatively.The changes in liver function before the opteration and within 3 days,and 1,2 months postoperatively.Complications within 6 months postoperatively were examined.Results Among all lesions,4 obtained complete remission (CR),10 partial remission (PR),39 stable disease (SD) and 22 progression of disease (PD),corresponding to the total effectiveness rate of 18.7％.However,these figures were 4,8,3 and 1 for the lesions with the longest diameter of 5 cm or less,resulting in the total effectiveness rate of 75％.The levels of alanine transferrase (ALT) and aspartate transferrase (AST) at 1 and 2 months postoperatively,but not day 3 (P＞0.05),were statistically higher than those before the surgery (both P＜0.05).And there was not statistically significant between the various time points after surgery.There was no marked difference in the levels of serum bilirubin and albumin between preoperative and postoperative time points (both P＞0.05).After a follow-up period of 6 months,24 cases developed seeds migration and 2 needle tract implantation,2 cases developed pneumothorax and 1 digestive tract reaction,including nausea,vomiting and loss of apetite.Conclusions Radioactive 125I seeds implantation is effective for the treatment of unresectable primary liver cancer with the longest diameter of 5 cm or less.However,this treatment may induce adverse events and complication,but fatal complications are rare. Key words: Liver neoplasms;  Iodine radioisotopes;  Tomography, spiral computed