Authors' objectives: Hepatocellular carcinoma is the most common type of liver cancer. Most cases of hepatocellular carcinoma are caused by cirrhosis, a condition associated with damage and scarring to the liver. This is often caused by excessive alcohol intake or having long term infections with hepatitis B or C. It is more common in men than women and typically affects older people. DC Bead consists of beads that are designed to release doxorubicin, a chemotherapy drug, at a slow rate at the site of the cancer. This is delivered directly to the hepatic artery, a blood vessel that supplies blood to the liver. Studies have shown that DC Bead delivers doxorubicin to the tumour without the drug spreading to healthy tissue. DC Bead is already used to treat hepatocellular carcinoma in the UK.

Project Status: Completed

Year Published: 2016

URL for published report: http://www.hsric.nihr.ac.uk/topics/doxorubicin-eluting-beads-dc-bead-dc-bead-m1-and-radiopaque-dc-bead-for-hepatocellular-carcinoma/

English language abstract: An English language summary is available

Publication Type: Not Assigned

Country: England, United Kingdom

Organisation Name: NIHR Horizon Scanning Centre

Contact Address: The NIHR Horizon Scanning Centre, Department of Public Health, Epidemiology, and Biostatistics, School of Health and Population Sciences, University of Birmingham, 90 Vincent Drive, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2SP. United Kingdom. Tel: +44 121 414 7831, Fax: +44 121 2269

Contact Name: c.packer@bham.ac.uk

Contact Email: c.packer@bham.ac.uk

Copyright: NIHR Horizon Scanning Research&Intelligence Centre (NIHR HSRIC)