At which patients is it used?
In the classical chemotherapy procedure, the drug is given to the patient through the arm vein. In the TAKE method, a two-stage application is performed, namely chemotherapy and embolization.
Unlike the classical chemotherapy method, higher-dose chemotherapy drug is injected directly from the inguinal region into the vessels feeding the tumor formed by cancerous cells.
Thus, all the drug reaches the cancerous tissue. Since healthy tissues are protected, side effects seen in classical chemotherapy do not occur. The aim of the chemoembolization (TAKE) procedure is to prevent the blood supply of the cancerous area and to ensure the destruction of cancer cells by administering chemotherapy drugs directly into the tissue.
Since the microspheres used during this process remain in the cancerous tissue and prevent the tissue from being fed with blood, the death of cancer cells is accelerated.
In the embolization process, which is the second part of the treatment, the blood flow to the cancerous tissue is cut off and the feeding of the cancerous tissue is prevented.
How is it applied?
In order to perform the TACE procedure, the patient is hospitalized and taken to the angiography room. In order to prevent pain and reduce anxiety, relaxing drugs are given through the arm vein.
Then, the angiography procedure is started by entering through the groin. A thin tube called a catheter is inserted into the hepatic artery and angiography of all the vessels of the liver is drawn. In this way, the vessels that feed the cancerous tissue in the liver are determined.
Through a thinner catheter, microspheres, that is, drugs contained in special particles, are given to the tissue that feeds the tumor. Microspheres, which allow chemotherapy drugs to reach cells, reach the tumor formed by cancer cells and close the vessels that feed the tissue.
Patients stay in hospital for only one night
After the completion of the TAKE procedure, the patient needs to rest in the hospital for 4-6 hours. After the chemoembolization procedure, the patient may develop 'postembolization syndrome' with abdominal pain, weakness, fatigue, nausea, vomiting and fever. While this situation lasts for a short time in some patients, it can last for 3-4 days in others.
Complications such as abscess formation and liver failure may occur rarely. Various treatments are applied to eliminate these problems. In the first month after the chemoembolization procedure, a control examination is made and the liver is examined. After 3 months, CT, MR or PET-CT are taken to understand how well the tumor responds to the treatment.
Some special blood tests are also performed to monitor liver enzymes.