Clinical Research on the Characteristics of Lipiodol in Chemoembolization Therapy for Hepatic Cellular Carcinoma

Objective To investigate the intrahepatic distribution of Lipiodol in chemoembolization therapy for primary hepatic cellular carcinoma (HCC).Materials and Methods Thirtysix patients with HCC, proved by imaging and/or biopsy, were randomly divided into three groups and were treated with common Lipiodol (n=11), Ultra Fluide Lipiodol (n=13), or a mixture of the above two preparations with a ratio of 1∶1 (n=12), respectively. The distribution of Lipiodol in the liver demonstrated on plain films and CT scans was observed in 15～20 days after chemoembolization. The distribution was graded as follows. (1) Excellent: all Lipiodol was deposited in the lesions; (2) Good: most Lipiodol was deposited in the lesions, while small amount of Lipiodol stayed in normal hepatic parenchyma; (3) Poor: Lipiodol was deposited in both lesions and normal hepatic parenchyma about equally.Results The occurrences of Lipiodol deposit seen only inside the lesions in the common group, Ultra Fluide group and mixture group were 91% (10/11), 7.7% (1/13) and 33% (4/12), respectively. Followup CT scans showed that Ultra Fluide Lipiodol easily escaped from the lesions.Conclusion In chemoembolization therapy with Lipiodol for HCC, the common Lipiodol can almost always deposit in the lesions rather than in the normal parenchyma as seen in the case of using Ultra Fluide Lipiodol.