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- • For patients with bulky or symptomatic liver metastases, one treatment option is tying off the hepatic artery,
- placing a tube (catheter) into the artery and injecting a material that blocks the blood flow to the tumor
- nodules in the liver. For optimal effectiveness, this is followed by chemotherapy . This can lead to substantial
- tumor regression. It can also cause severe toxic effects—abdominal pain, fever, nausea and a short-term
- worsening of the syndrome—but many patients do experience substantial relief from symptoms.
-
- Radiation The role of radiation therapy in managing carcinoid tumors with distant metastasis is
- restricted to relief from symptoms, most commonly of bone involvement. However, localized metastasis will occasionally respond to radiation therapy.
-
- Supportive Therapy There are a number of ways to manage symptoms from metastatic disease with medication.
- • Diarrhea will frequently respond to standard antidiarrheal medications such as Lomotil or tincture of opium
- and to dietary changes such as restricting consumption of foods high in fat.
- • The somostatin analogue octreotide has recently been shown to be useful in improving symptoms of the
- carcinoid syndrome and may be life-saving in carcinoid crisis (sudden exacerbation of symptoms).
- • Interferon-alpha preparations may have a role in controlling symptoms of the carcinoid syndrome and/or in
- arresting tumor growth.
