Use of angioembolization as an effective technique for the management of pediatric solid tumors.

Purpose: In oncology practice, angioembolization has been reported for tumor reduction before surgery, treatment of life-threatening conditions, and for palliative care. Nevertheless, the overall experience with angioembolization for the treatment of tumors is limited. We report our experience in 7 nonvascular solid pediatric tumors.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective review was carried out of medical records from pediatric patients (0-18 years) with solid nonvascular tumors who underwent angioembolization in the last 5 years at our institution.

Results: Seven patients underwent embolization: 2 neuroblastomas, 1 metastatic paraganglioma, 1 hepatoblastoma, 1 myofibroblastic tumor, 1 osteosarcoma, and 1 undifferentiated sarcoma. The reason for angioembolization was preparation for surgery (3), treatment of a life-threatening event (1), or palliative care (3). Each case is presented and discussed. The outcome was subsequent complete surgical resection in 3 cases, tumor vanished in 1 case, symptom control was achieved in 1, and the other 2 patients improved their survival and quality of life, however, died of disease progression.

Conclusions: Tumor angioembolization may enter the treatment algorithm for selected patients who have to face difficult or unwarranted surgical procedures or have diseases where conventional therapies have failed.