[Interventional radiology in oncology]

Oncology represents a very wide field of applications in interventional radiology. Procedures are diagnostic as well as therapeutic; approaches may be endovascular (either arterial or venous), endocanalar, or transcutaneous; guidance may need X-ray, sonographic, CT scan or endoscopic control. Such a diversity in methods makes clinical and technical training especially long. Main indications of endoarterial approaches are: pain, bleeding, abnormal secretion (endocrine tumors and paraneoplastic syndrome), abnormal function (kidney, spleen), preoperative devascularization of tumors, redistribution of arterial flows before intra arterial chemotherapy, chemoembolizations. Venous pathology is known to be particularly frequent in oncology. Current indications are inferior vena cava filter placement, angioplasty and stenting in case of superior vena cava syndrome, local fibrinolysis, foreign bodies extraction. Drainages, stenosis dilations and stent placements are daily procedures in urinary and biliary tracts in order to treat obstructions, sepsis or fistulas. Transcutaneous approaches under radiological guidance allow biopsies, drainage of deep collections, antalgic nerve infiltrations, gastrostomy. Nowadays, interventional radiology can be considered as a requisite weapon for a correct cancerous patient management, since it is useful from the initial diagnostic biopsy to the palliative care of cancer complications.