Technical Aspects and Practical Approach Toward Same-Day Y90 Radioembolization in the Management of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Radioembolization with Yttrium-90 (Y90)has been proven safe and effective for the treatment of primary and secondary hepatic malignancies. Standard protocols have necessitated planning angiography with Technetium-99m macroaggregated albumin (Tc99m MAA)administration/scan typically 1-2 weeks prior to the radioembolization therapy. The intent of this practice is to ensure appropriate patient selection and treatment candidacy while also confirming best dosimetry approaches. At our center, we started performing “same-day Y90” in 2008; in a subset of international patients with travel hardship, we performed the planning and treatment procedures consecutively on the same day. In this article, we reveal our practical approach to treating patients on the same day as planning angiography. With more than 160 same-day procedures completed between 2008 and 2017, the safety and efficacy of such a paradigm has been established at our center. This approach is appealing to patients, their families, and referring physicians. Appropriate patient selection and proper preprocedure planning based on baseline imaging are key elements in successful same-day radioembolization treatments.