Evaluation of Photoelectron Therapy Effect on Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Mofid B1, Navabpoor M2, Alizadeh Azimi M3 1. Assistant professor, Department of Radiotherapy, Faculty of Para-Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of medical sciences 2. Instructor, Department of Technology of radiology, Faculty of Para-Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of medical sciences Abstract Background: Photoelectron therapy method has been usad successfully, on the body phantom, cancer cells culture and animals. In this method, drugs containing x-Ray opaque factors–with high atomic numbers–are injected into the patient’s vein. After appropriate drug accumulation, about at least ten percent of the total injected amounts, 200kev. up to 300kev. of localized x-Ray beams is radiated to the site of the tumor. The Ethic Committee of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Education and Health Services authorized the implementation of this new cancer treatment method, initially only on the group of patients who suffered from hepato-cellular carcinoma. Hepato cellular carcinoma is one of the most current malignancies of liver. In some cases, in addition to surgery, several approaches exist to come near the aim of predominating hepato-cellular carcinoma such as chemotherapy, current Radiation Therapy, Radio-Frequency application (RF), Trans-Artepical Chemo Embolization, (TACE), and Percutaneous Ethanol Injection (PEI). The effectiveness of the above-mentioned methods is about 10%-47%, applied alone or along side each other. Materials and methods: This study was a clinical-trial one. In this study, first, lipiodol (an x-ray opaque material with a high atomic number) was transferred into the main vessel terminating to the tumor by angio-catheterization. Then,200kev. up to 250kev. of localized x-ray was radiated to the site of the tumor in one session. The drug volume was proportionally selected to the volume of the tumor, and the irradiation intensity was between 400 to 600cent.Gy. the beam energy absorption capacity of this drug is as times as that of sound tissues consequently, this new method allows higher beam energy absorption in the tumor which ultimately causes an intensive malignancy dissolving. Results: The CT. scanning images of the six designated patients, after six-month from one session treatment by this new radiation therapy method, indicated a considerable damage to the tumor. Conclusion: The tumor measurement showed 40-60 percent dissolving that surely was due to the fatal absorbed energy in tumor cells. Since some of the designated patients also suffered from cirrhoses and hepatitis-B, there was no assertion of laboratory hepatic test to reveal the cure signs.