Gas in embolized tumors: an alternate hypothesis for its origin

Gas within embolized, uninfected tumors has been ascribed to either carbon dioxide produced through anaerobic reticulocyte metabolism or oxygen release from oxyhemoglobin. An alternative hypothesis explaining the presence of gas within embolized, uninfected tumors, namely, that gas is introduced during the embolization procedure, is presented. Experimental results corroborating this hypothesis are also described.