Transarterial chemoembolisation is a state-of-the-art technique of interventional oncology with impressive results internationally as well as at the Interbalkan Medical Centre, where the procedure is performed by Dr Ioannis Dedes whose personal experience exceeds one thousand cases in the last decade.

Dedes specialises in chemoembolisations of patients with primary liver tumours(hepatocellular carcinoma, cholangiocarcinoma) or secondary metastases to the liver from other tumours (colorectal carcinoma, lung cancer). Dr Dedes’ most recent successful chemoembolisation is performed to treat breast cancer, neuroendocrine tumours, kidney cancer, sarcoma, melanoma, bone and soft tissue cancer.

Chemoembolisation is performed locally, without surgery, under the guidance of digital angiography at repeated sessions.

This is what the actual procedure entails:

Using a percutaneous, transarterial catheter, high concentration of chemoterapeutic agents is delivered directly to the tumour. This is a very precise and, therefore, effective treatment, causing no harm to neighbouring disease-free vital organs. Furthermore, targeting the ‘core’ of the tumour requires great experience and specialisation on the part of the interventional radiology expert, so as to ensure that no other vital organ adjacent to the tumour is harmed.

The treatment results in tumour shrinkage; when it reaches 4 cm in size then the arteries responsible for tumour perfusion are embolised so as to achieve ischaemia and, ultimately, tumour necrosis.

Transarterial chemoembolisation is well tolerated and serious complications are extremely rare. The commonest side-effect is the so-called ‘post-embolisation syndrome’, which is usually transient; patients recover in a few days. Most patients can return home one day after the embolisation procedure. Side-effects such as hair loss and bone marrow suppression, which are common with systemic chemotherapy, do not occur with transarterial chemoembolisation.

Ioannis Dedes’ chemoembolisation complication-free success rates performed at Thessaloniki Interbalkan Centre are even higher than internationally accepted standards.

Ask I. Dedes, what can you expect from a treatment. Examines your personal file and discusses it with you

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Tumor chemoembolizations