The Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) will present the latest research on treatments for individuals with kidney, prostate and bone cancer; herniated disks; peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and related complications; childbirth difficulties; and more at its 34th Annual Scientific Meeting March 7-12� at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, Calif.
Highlights of embargoed key interventional radiology studies being presented are listed below. Illustrations and broadcast-quality footage are available for some stories; interviews with lead researchers can be arranged on request.
Cancer Advances
Using Focal Therapy/3-D Mapping for Prostate Cancer: Look, No Surgery
Interventional radiologist can tailor treatment to each patient's disease and offer good news in the form of the so-called "male lumpectomy" for men with prostate cancer. "Instead of removing the entire prostate, or freezing the entire prostate or using radiation on the entire prostate, interventional radiologists can visualize where the cancer is and just destroy the cancer," says study author Gary M. Onik, M.D., interventional radiologist. And details about a better mapping biopsy for determining the extent of prostate cancer will be given.
Killing Kidney Cancer With Cold: Remarkable Results
More than 75 percent of individuals who are diagnosed with kidney cancer have tumors that are 4 centimeters or less in size. A leading cancer center weighs in with remarkable three-year results about the safety and efficacy of freezing—or using cryoablation—for kidney cancer tumors. It's important that individuals and doctors are aware of the latest treatments advances—especially since the incidence of kidney cancer has been steadily increasing in this country over the past 30 years, notes Christos Georgiades, M.D., Ph.D., interventional radiologist.
Seeing "Lazarus Effect": Relieving Painful Bone Tumor Pain
Often, individuals' quality of life can be severely affected when they have metastatic bone disease. Normal daily activities can become difficult when the metastases become painful, appetite diminishes and the need for pain medications increases. An interventional radiology treatment can bring relief to individuals who have very large metastases and who are living with cancer.
Back Pain Treatment
Treating Herniated Disks: Pain Relief From Unexpected Source
Back pain is the most common cause of job-related disability and a leading contributor to missed work. Having a herniated disk can affect how one performs everyday activities and can cause severe pain that influences everything one does. However, invasive surgery for herniated disks could become a thing of the past—especially given the positive results of a minimally invasive interventional radiology injection treatment.
Women's Health: C-sections and Invasive Placentas
Studying Women's Health: Making Childbirth Safer
The rate of C-sections in the United States has risen greatly over the past decade, and, in 2005, 30 percent of all births were by C-section, according to recent statistics. Although generally a very safe procedure, complications of C-sections happen rarely and may include injuries to the blood vessels that can cause prolonged and sometimes life-threatening bleeding in the mother. Innovative, interventional radiology treatments are making childbirth safer for women who have C-sections that are complicated by massive bleeding and for those who suffer from the pregnancy condition of "invasive" placenta. The results of two studies detailing the effectiveness of minimally invasive treatments for pregnant women will be presented.
Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD)
Treating Peripheral Arterial Disease: Stem Cell Therapy Advances
Interventional radiologists are putting together the puzzle pieces of stem cell therapy to determine how to regenerate blood vessels to open clogged or narrowed arteries to treat peripheral arterial disease (PAD). A major research center presents its findings on advancing this research with the help of a firefly-like bioluminescence imaging agent and seaweed "bubble."
Examining Heart Attack Risk: Surprising Look at Framingham Risk Scores (NHANES Data From More Than 6,000 Persons)
About 25 percent of all heart attacks or sudden cardiac deaths in the United States occur in individuals thought to be at low risk. If these individuals could be identified early on, primary prevention—such as initiating lifestyle changes and medical intervention directed at modifying risk factors—could be started before costlier and more intensive treatments are needed. Interventional radiologists can help improve the accuracy of cardiovascular risk prediction that could significantly impact public health.
Seeing the Promise of Drug-Eluting Stents for Critical Limb Ischemia
Interventional radiologists are helping peripheral arterial disease (PAD) patients with critical limb ischemia avoid amputation by exploring the treatment of the smaller blood vessels below the knee (typically difficult to treat because of their size) with drug-coated stents. Promising three-year data from a double-arm prospective registry will be presented.
Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm
Recommending Treatment for "Silent Killer"
Abdominal aortic aneurysms can be treated successfully by a minimally invasive procedure that eliminates the need to undergo a large abdominal incision from surgery or to clamp the aorta, the main artery from the heart. The durability and effectiveness of minimally invasive endovascular aneurysm repair—over an eight-year period and with nearly 500 patients—will be examined.
Chronic Kidney Disease/Dialysis Access
Finding that Age Doesn't Matter: AV Fistulas and Dialysis
Is there a difference in how arteriovenous (AV) fistulas—vascular accesses needed for dialysis treatment—respond in younger and older patients? The results of a comparison study provide information on how interventional radiologists maintain access to chronic kidney disease patients' circulatory systems to provide life-sustaining dialysis—based on one's age.
About the Society of Interventional Radiology
Interventional radiologists are physicians who specialize in minimally invasive, targeted treatments. They offer the most in-depth knowledge of the least invasive treatments available coupled with diagnostic and clinical experience across all specialties. They use X-ray, MRI and other imaging to advance a catheter in the body, usually in an artery, to treat at the source of the disease internally. As the inventors of angioplasty and the catheter-delivered stent, which were first used in the legs to treat peripheral arterial disease, interventional radiologists pioneered minimally invasive modern medicine. Today, interventional oncology is a growing specialty area of interventional radiology. Interventional radiologists can deliver treatments for cancer directly to the tumor without significant side effects or damage to nearby normal tissue.
Many conditions that once required surgery can be treated less invasively by interventional radiologists. Interventional radiology treatments offer less risk, less pain and less recovery time compared to open surgery. Visit www.SIRweb.org.
Local interviews, medical illustrations and broadcast-quality video footage are available by contacting SIR's communications department at mverrillo@SIRweb.org. Fact sheets and statistics can be found in the Media section at www.SIRweb.org.
Journal
Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology