Although many tumours of head and neck have been successfully embolized, the number of publications on the application of selective embolization of thyroid arteries (SETA) is limited. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the safety, efficacy and possible indications and
contraindications for preresective or palliative SETA in
thyroid cancer. The study group comprised 20 patients with thyroid tumours: 7 cases of advanced inoperable
anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) and 13 cases of differentiated
thyroid carcinoma (DTC). All the patients underwent SETA of the superior and/or inferior thyroid arteries. After SETA, selective angiographies of thyroid arteries were performed to ensure that the targeted arteries had been completely occluded. In all the cases, SETA decreased the blood flow through the thyroid. Preresective SETA limited
bleeding during surgery and decreased operating time. We observed a massive increase of
thyroglobulin (Tg) concentrations in cases of DTC that started 36-48 h after SETA and did not occur in cases of ATC. Although SETA had no influence on the mortality of ATC patients, they reported improvements in swallowing, breathing and decrease of the
pain. Concluding, SETA is minimally invasive and safe method limiting blood flow through thyroid tumours. In DTC patients, SETA causes ischaemic
necrosis of the gland which results in important increases in serum concentrations of Tg. Therefore,
thyroidectomy should be performed during the first 36 h after preresective embolization. Moreover, SETA may become an attractive option of
palliative treatment for ATC patients with intractable
bleeding,
pain or signs of tracheal and oesophageal compression.