radiotechnology provides a new way to isolate cancer cells

Using radio waves; a less invasive treatment alternative to surgery, could give people living with liver cancer more days to look forward to. The new Radio Frequency Ablation (RFA) device could be used for patients who are too weak to endure a major medical operation. This is good news especially for patients suffering not only from liver cancer, but from multiple other health complications as well.

Liver cancer is a complex disease that can also affects other organs in the body. A cancer isolated in the liver is called primary liver cancer, while the condition wherein the cancer starts from a different organ and ultimately reaches the liver is called secondary liver cancer.

The RFA is a technology imported from Korea. This small devise comes with several prongs acting as conductors. When placed in affected tissues, the electrode scorches the infected cells, targeting those that are difficult to remove surgically. The entire procedure is relatively quick, done in about 40 minutes, and patients can be sent home after a few hours to recuperate.

RFA is done on patients with small liver cancers that are identified early on but cannot be surgically operated. Further development of the device, however, shows that it could be highly beneficial to people with secondary liver cancer. Often in these cases, there is high risk involved in operating on a patient with multiple cancers. It can also be a potential treatment for those who have not responded well to chemotherapy, or for those who have relapsed after surgery. As it is minimally invasive, patients may experience minor side effects such as tiredness and fever. Nonetheless, the positive response of patients to RFA opens a window and sheds some light to those who are suffering in darkness.