Interventional Radiology Techniques for Intra-Arterial Chemoembolization

Transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) of hepatic malignancies has been described in the medical literature for more than two decades (1, 2, 3). This method exploits the fact that the liver has a unique dual blood supply. Although most of the blood flow to the liver is derived from the portal venous system, hepatic malignancies in general tend to derive their blood supply solely from the hepatic artery (Fig. 1). This unique property has led to the popular but controversial treatment method commonly referred to as TACE. TACE allows the interventionalist to catheterize branches of the hepatic artery selectively and to deliver high doses of chemotherapy and embolization agents directly to the target lesions.