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Swedish Council on Health Technology Assessment (SBU): SBU Systematic Review Summaries [Internet].

Laser-induced Interstitial Thermal Therapy for Liver Metastases

Summary and conclusions
SBU Alert Report No. 2011-01

March 2, 2011

Laser-induced thermotherapy is a non-surgical method for treating tumors in solid organs. The method is experimental and considered primarily in treating patients with liver metastases when surgery is not an option.

  • It is uncertain whether or not laser-induced thermotherapy extends life in patients with liver metastases. Comparative studies are lacking. Studies published to date show that this treatment method can ablate metastases, and that risks associated with the procedure are minor. However, the beneficial effects of metastases ablation, in terms of symptoms and quality of life, have not been demonstrated in the literature.
  • Use of the method should be limited to controlled trials. This implies, e.g., that patients must be informed about the different treatment options and the scientific evidence available at the time.

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Copyright © 2011 by the Swedish Council on Health Technology Assessment. All content unless otherwise noted is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Bookshelf ID: NBK285071, PMID: 26153593

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