Targeted Radiation

Stereotactic radiosurgery (Gamma Knife and Cyber Knife) can be used to target specific tumors while sparing normal tissue. Radiation can be used to treat other areas of the body including lung, bone and brain, and can be used to treat isolated metastases or to relieve symptoms caused by a specific lesion.

Small beads, embedded with a radioactive material, are injected into the hepatic arteries. These microspheres emit high doses of radiation to the tumor cells to destroy them. This treatment is sometimes referred to as Y-90 radioembolization, SIR-Spheres or TheraSpheres.
 
Embolization treatments can be safely performed because the liver gets its blood supply from both the hepatic artery and a separate vein, called the portal vein. Tumors preferentially get their blood supply from the artery, and the healthy liver from the vein. That is why the blood supply can be cut off through the hepatic artery and not cause significant damage to the healthy liver.

See http://sirtex.com for more info on the process and to find practitioners in your area. Although this treatment is still "off-label" for OM, the response seems to be good and the side effects relatively minimal (depending on how advanced the disease is). Although it is different for different patients, a person can have up to approx. three treatments, due to the lungs' capacity to tolerate the radiation as they receive some "spill-over" from the liver. As with other types of embolization, this procedure is typically performed by an interventional radiologist and is performed at many centers.

> Learn about Transarterial Targeted Chemotherapies including TACE and PHP

Introduction
Primary Tumor Treatments
    Primary Radiation
    Enucleation / Resection
    Adjuvant Therapy
Metastatic Disease Treatments
    > Targeted Radiation
    Transarterial Chemotherapy
    Other Liver Treatments
    Systemic Treatments
    Clinical Trials 
    Frontier Treatments
Diet & Lifestyle
Living with OM