Trans-Arterial Embolization for Metastatic Disease
The same techniques described above to stop hemorrhage or occlude vascular malformations can be used to treat metastatic lesions throughout the body. Arterial embolization techniques using polyvinyl alcohol particles or other materials have been performed in veterinary patients to control intractable epistaxis associated with nasal tumors, to reduce hemorrhage associated with non-resectable tumors, or to control pain and slow tumor growth of metastatic cancer.1,33 In fact, embolization of metastatic bone lesions in humans has been shown to provide faster analgesia than palliative radiation with less damage to nearby tissues in certain cases.34 In some human cases, subsequent surgical resection has been possible following the embolization-induced tumor shrinkage. In theory, certain veterinary patients may benefit from a similar treatment regimen.