[Interventional radiological procedures in the therapy for colorectal liver metastases]

Microtherapeutic procedures performed by interventional radiologists pose a viable alternative or additive to systemic chemotherapy for local tumour control in cases of non-operable (for technical, functional, and comorbidity reasons or at the patient's wish) liver metastases. A main focus includes local therapies such as radiofrequency ablation and interstitial brachytherapy which are performed under ultrasound, CT or MRI guidance to achieve a thermal or radiogenic ablation of the malignancy. Although highly effective, these procedures are limited to oligonodular manifestations. For disseminated metastases, locoregional techniques like the yttrium-90 radioembolisation have become established. Here, the active principle in the form of radioactively labelled microspheres is introduced into the liver through an arterial catheter under angiographic guidance. The present article focuses on metastases of colorectal cancer as the most frequent tumour entity encountered in interventional radiotherapy.