Embolization is the process of injecting a foreign substance into the tumor to stop the blood flow. The lack of blood deprives the tumor of needed oxygen and nutrients and eventually causes cells to die. The tumor blood supply is stopped with small pieces of material that have been saturated with chemotherapy drugs. Once the blood flow has stopped, the tumor is soaked in a very high concentration of drugs for a prolonged period of time thus, the tumor cells die very quickly Patients with kidney disease, blood coagulation problems, or known allergies to contrast agents are not good candidates for this procedure. People with jaundice, severe cirrhosis or kidney failure have an increased chance of complications.
Studies show that patients with hepatocellular cancer undergoing this procedure may experience tumor shrinkage as well as an increased survival rate.