Tumor Embolization

Introduction

Tumor embolization is a procedure that can be performed prior to a planned surgical resection of the tumor. Embolization shuts down the blood supply to a tumor reducing blood loss during surgical resection. A secondary benefit from embolization can be that tumor margins are more easily identified and a tumor can be removed more completely and with less effort. Tumors of the spine, head, and neck that can be embolized have relatively large blood vessels supplying the tumor.

Examples of typical tumors with prominent blood supply include:

• hemangioblastoma

• meningioma

• juvenile nasal angiofibroma

• aneurysmal bone cyst

• paraganglioma’s (carotid body, glomus vagale, glomus jugulare)

• hemangiopericytoma

• vascular metastases from renal cell, thyroid, and chorio cancers.

Procedure

Similar to epistaxis embolization, tumor embolization begins with performing a cerebral or spinal angiogram in order to more completely define the blood supply to the tumor in question, and determine if the tumor is ammenable to embolization. If there is prominent blood supply to a tumor, then a smaller catheter will be advanced into the arteries supplying the tumor and particles or a glue like material will be injected to block the blood supply to the tumor.

This procedure is done with either sedation or general anesthesia depending on the location of the tumor and typically lasts 1-3 hours. In most circumstances, patients will be admitted following the procedure with plans for surgical resection of the tumor within 1 or 2 days.