A panel of experts reached consensus on recommendations on when to assess oncologic outcomes per patient, per session, and per tumor; definitions of starting and ending times; definitions of surviv... There is currently no consensus regarding preferred clinical outcome measures following image-guided tumor ablation or clear definitions of oncologic end points. This consensus document proposes st...

Background This study examined the safety, pharmacokinetics, and efficacy of transarterial chemoembolization of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) using a newly developed size of a superabsorbent polymer drug-eluting embolic material. Methods Forty-five patients with documented HCC (Child–Pugh score A/B: 55.5 %/44.5 %) were embolized with HepaSphere microspheres 30–60 μm with escalation of lesion, dose, and frequency of re-embolization. Local response was evaluated with modified response evaluation criteria in solid tumors (mRECIST). Plasma levels of doxorubicin were measured in 24 patients at baseline and at 5, 20, 40, 60, and 120 min, at 6, 24, and 48 h, and at 7 days, respectively, to determine doxorubicin in plasma (Cmax) and area under the curve (AUC). Measurements of three patients who underwent lipiodol-based conventional chemoembolization (c-TACE) were also performed. Results TACE with HepaSphere was well tolerated with an acceptable safety profile and no 30-day mortality. Response rates were calculated on intention-to-treat basis with complete response (CR) in 17.8 % reaching 22.2 % for the target lesion. Overall partial response (PR) was seen in 51.1 %, stable disease in 20 %, and progressive disease in 11.1 % of patients. Overall objective response (CR + PR), including patients treated at all dosages of doxorubicin, was seen in 68.9 % of cases. After a median follow-up of 15.6 months, 1-year survival is 100 %. Doxorubicin AUC was significantly lower in patients with HepaSphere 30–60 μm (35,195 ± 27,873 ng × min/ml) than in patients with conventional TACE (103,960 ± 16,652 ng × min/ml; p = 0.009). Cmax was also significantly lower with HepaSphere 30–60 μm (83.9 ± 32.1 ng/ml) compared with c-TACE (761.3 ± 58.8 ng/ml; p = 0.002). Conclusion HepaSphere 30–60 μm is an effective drug-eluting embolic material with a favourable pharmacokinetic profile.

The CIRSE classification system was published in 2017 aiming to standardize the reporting of complications by avoiding subjective definitions and an excessive number of grades. The original system described 6 grades: Grade 1: complication could be solved within the same procedure, Grade 2: unplanned prolonged hospitalization < 48 h without an additional therapy, Grade 3: additional therapies needed or hospitalization > 48 h, but no sequelae, Grade 4: mild sequelae beyond hospitalization, Grade 5: severe sequelae requiring assistance in daily life, and Grade 6: death. Following initial evaluation through a validation process performed during the International Conference on Complications in Interventional Radiology (ICCIR 2023), a need to modify the system was identified, specifically to stratify grades 1 and 3 based on the degree of impact on the patient in terms of success or failure of the procedure (Grade 1) and on the duration of hospital stay (Grade 3). Thus, Grade 1 was subdivided into 1a and 1b: 1b describing situations when the complication was resolved within the same procedure, but the intended procedure was not completed and Grade 3 subdivided into 3a: Hospital stay > 48 h, but < 2 weeks and 3b > 2 weeks to depict the complications that resulted in the most time- and resource consuming hospitalizations. It remained the case that no permanent sequelae are observed in grade 3. This initial testing of the modified classification system in an international IR complication meeting showed high reliability and strong inter-observer agreement. The modified CIRSE system for classification of complications addresses the shortcomings of the original system while remaining easy to use with clear and objective parameters describing the clinical outcomes after a complication.

Background Primary or metastatic osseous and soft tissue lesions can be treated by ablation techniques. Methods These techniques are classified into chemical ablation (including ethanol or acetic acid injection) and thermal ablation (including laser, radiofrequency, microwave, cryoablation, radiofrequency ionisation and MR-guided HIFU). Ablation can be performed either alone or in combination with surgical or other percutaneous techniques. Results In most cases, ablation provides curative treatment for benign lesions and malignant lesions up to 3 cm. Furthermore, it can be a palliative treatment providing pain reduction and local control of the disease, diminishing the tumour burden and mass effect on organs. Ablation may result in bone weakening; therefore, whenever stabilisation is undermined, bone augmentation should follow ablation depending on the lesion size and location. Conclusion Thermal ablation of bone and soft tissues demonstrates high success and relatively low complication rates. However, the most common complication is the iatrogenic thermal damage of surrounding sensitive structures. Nervous structures are very sensitive to extremely high and low temperatures with resultant transient or permanent neurological damage. Thermal damage can cause normal bone osteonecrosis in the lesion’s periphery, surrounding muscular atrophy and scarring, and skin burns. Successful thermal ablation requires a sufficient ablation volume and thermal protection of the surrounding vulnerable structures. Teaching points • Percutaneous ablations constitute a safe and efficacious therapy for treatment of osteoid osteoma. • Ablation techniques can treat painful malignant MSK lesions and provide local tumour control. • Thermal ablation of bone and soft tissues demonstrates high success and low complication rates. • Nerves, cartilage and skin are sensitive to extremely high and low temperatures. • Successful thermal ablation occasionally requires thermal protection of the surrounding structures.