Purpose: Investigate the factors causing infusion stoppage and high residual radioactivity during the administration of yttrium-90 (Y90) microspheres. Materials and Methods: Retrospective analysis between July 2009 to June 2014 was performed of all radioembolization procedures at a single-institution including 310 Y90 infusions performed in 178 subjects with 1-4 infusions per subject. Treatment plans, slow flow infusion stoppage, and high residual radioactivity (Z20% not administered) were collected. Due to strong within-subject correlation, statistical analysis was performed only on the first observation per subject. The 3 most common cancer types were included. Pearson chi-square and Fisher's exact chi-square tests were used. Results: Stoppage due to slow flow occurred in 36/310 infusions of which 89% had Z20% residual radioactivity. Residual radioactivity of Z20% occurred in 34/310 infusions of which 94% had infusion stopped due to slow flow. There were 147 subjects for statistical analysis with hepatocellular (44%), colorectal (41%), and neuroendocrine (15%) neoplasms. Treatment was performed with resin microspheres in 76 of 147 subjects (51.7%) and the remaining with glass microspheres. High residual radioactivity of Z20% in 12 subjects occurred in the presence of slow flow infusion stoppage (po.0001) and only resin treatments (p¼.0005). Infusion stoppage due to slow flow occurred in 16 subjects of the resin microsphere type (po.0001). Initial results prompted a secondary multivariate analysis on resin treatments to predict slow flow and residual radioactivity. Conclusion: High residual radioactivity was significantly associated with slow flow stoppage and resin treatment.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.