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Intra-caval Percutaneous Radiofrequency Ablation for a Neuroendocrine Tumor (NET) Metastasis in Transplanted Liver

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Abstract

Less than 1% of patients with liver metastases from neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) are susceptible to liver transplantation. We report a case of a patient transplanted 13 years ago for NET metastases, with a lesion histologically proved for NET metastasis located at the cava vein anastomosis. He was treated with percutaneous radiofrequency ablation (RFA) after a first failed attempt of endovascular approach. The vascular heat sink, which RFA is susceptible to, was considered an advantage in this case, since it restricted the propagation of heat only to the tissue located in the very proximity of the RFA antenna, protecting the inferior vena cava vessel walls. This positive result may suggest an additional use of RFA in selected challenging cases.

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Funding

This study was not supported by any funding.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology Department, ASST Santi Paolo e Carlo, San Paolo Hospital, University of Milan, Via A di Rudinì 8, 20142, Milan, IT, Italy

    Anna Maria Ierardi, Pierpaolo Biondetti, Alberto Magenta Biasina & Gianpaolo Carrafiello

  2. Nuclear Medicine Department, IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milan, IT, Italy

    Barbara Padovano

  3. Gastrointestinal Surgery and Liver Transplantation, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale Tumori, University of Milan, 20133, Milan, Italy

    Marco Bongini

Authors
  1. Anna Maria Ierardi
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  2. Pierpaolo Biondetti
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  3. Barbara Padovano
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  4. Alberto Magenta Biasina
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  5. Marco Bongini
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  6. Gianpaolo Carrafiello
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gianpaolo Carrafiello.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

The procedure performed in the study involving human participant was in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from the patient included in the study.

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Consent for publication was obtained for the patient’s personal data included in the study.

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Ierardi, A.M., Biondetti, P., Padovano, B. et al. Intra-caval Percutaneous Radiofrequency Ablation for a Neuroendocrine Tumor (NET) Metastasis in Transplanted Liver. Cardiovasc Intervent Radiol 41, 1962–1967 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00270-018-2032-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00270-018-2032-y

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