If you can't surgically remove a tumor, cyst, or part of an organ that's diseased, or destroy it with medication, there may be another option.
Arterial embolization is a procedure in which the blood supply to a diseased organ is cut off, which either shrinks the diseased area or destroys it. Arterial embolization has been used to treat various cancers, including liver and kidney tumors, as well as uterine fibroids. Today, researchers are trying out arterial embolization to treat thyroid problems like Graves' disease, an autoimmune condition that causes hyperthyroidism, or overactive thyroid.
How Arterial Embolization Works
Arterial embolization treats cancer, fibroids, and other conditions by taking away what those tumors need to survive and keep growing — their blood supply. The technique involves either a simple surgical procedure or chemo-embolization, which is the use of a drug to cut off blood to the area.
As a surgical procedure, embolization is relatively minor; it's performed in an outpatient setting, and involves the insertion of a catheter through an incision in the skin into the appropriate artery. Small particles that will clog the artery and help to block blood flow are then inserted into the catheter. This type of arterial embolization is often used to treat uterine fibroids, non-cancerous cysts that sometimes form inside a woman's uterus.
Chemo-embolization has been used to treat liver cancer, when surgery to remove the tumor isn't possible. In this process, a drug is given to cut off the blood supply to the tumor, rather than creating a blockage through an incision.
Considering Thyroid Arterial Embolization
Arterial embolization is still an extremely experimental method of treating thyroid conditions, and for this reason it's not yet widely available. But for people with Graves' disease, thyroid arterial embolization may be an option.
It’s not often that patients with Graves' disease are unable to successfully manage their condition with standard treatments, which include medications such as Tapazole (methimazole), radioactive iodine therapy, and surgery to remove all or part of the thyroid gland.
But sometimes these treatments don’t work, or patients prefer another option. Thyroid arterial embolization has been studied in a few small groups in China using particles (or granules) to block the blood vessels that supply the thyroid gland.
Results of the Chinese studies have been promising. One study had 22 participants, 14 of whom (more than 63 percent) experienced normal thyroid function after undergoing thyroid arterial embolization. Another study of 28 patients resulted in more than 78 percent (22 participants) with normal thyroid function after the procedure.
Of the remaining participants in both studies, most did notice an improvement in symptoms, although a few did become hyperthyroid again and needed to take anti-thyroid medications to control the symptoms.
Is Arterial Embolization Worth It?
While conventional treatments for Graves' disease are almost always successful in treating hyperthyroidism, they do often result in hypothyroidism, or underactive thyroid; hypothyroidism is very easily and inexpensively managed with thyroid supplement medications, which are highly unlikely to cause side effects.
The Chinese studies on arterial embolization noted that there were no complications and few or no side effects; the studies also indicated that patients didn't become hypothyroid after the procedure, which is a definite benefit.
Thyroid arterial embolization, in its early and experimental stage, seems like it may prove to be a good alternative for people with Graves' disease. It's highly effective, not as invasive as surgery, and doesn't use radioactive material like radioiodine therapy. But more research and studies need to be done to determine whether it's truly a worthwhile option for people with this thyroid problem.
Last Updated: 5/27/2009