Radiation therapy

External radiation therapy uses a machine outside the body to send radiation toward the area of the body with cancer. External radiation therapy is used to treat hepatoblastoma that cannot be removed by surgery or has spread to other parts of the body.

Internal radiation therapy uses a radioactive substance sealed in needles, seeds, wires, or catheters that are placed directly into or near the cancer. Radioembolization is a type of internal radiation therapy used to treat hepatoblastoma. A very small amount of a radioactive substance is attached to tiny beads that are injected into the hepatic artery (the main artery that supplies blood to the liver) through a thin tube called a catheter. The beads are mixed with a substance that blocks the artery, cutting off blood flow to the tumor. Most of the radiation is trapped near the tumor to kill the cancer cells. This is done to shrink the tumor or to relieve symptoms and improve quality of life for children with hepatoblastoma.