Authors' recommendations: Colorectal cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the UK, accounting for around 12% of all new cases of cancer. In metastatic colorectal cancer, the tumour has spread beyond the bowel to other parts of the body, most commonly the liver. Between 20% and 55% of people diagnosed with colorectal cancer have metastases when they are first diagnosed, and more than half of people who have undergone surgery for early stage colorectal cancer will develop advanced disease and distant metastases within 2 years of their initial diagnosis. Irinotecan-eluting beads are designed to release irinotecan (a chemotherapy drug) at a slow rate directly to the site of the cancer, without affecting the surrounding healthy tissue. The irinotecan-eluting beads are delivered through the hepatic artery, a blood vessel that supplies blood to the liver. Irinotecan-eluting beads are currently being studied to see how well they work in people with liver metastases secondary to colorectal cancer. Drug-eluting beads are already used to treat certain types of cancer in the UK.

Project Status: Completed

Year Published: 2016

URL for published report: http://www.hsric.nihr.ac.uk/topics/irinotecan-eluting-beads-dc-bead-dc-bead-m1-and-dc-bead-lumi-for-liver-metastases-secondary-to-colorectal-cancer/

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 Centre (NIHR HSC)