Percutaneous ethanol injection therapy for patients with inoperable thyroid papillary cancer: a report of two cases

Percutaneous ethanol injection therapy (PEIT) has been proposed for the treatment of autonomously functioning thyroid nodules and cysts. We report two patients with inoperable thyroid papillary cancer treated with PEIT, which has not, to date, been used frequently for this purpose. One patient, who had a large thyroid papillary cancer, had had liver cirrhosis for more than 5 years. The other patient was elderly and had diabetes mellitus and chronic hepatitis. In both patients, there was massive adhesion between the tumor and the trachea. Because a complete resection would have been both difficult and risky for either patient, we elected to use the PEIT procedure. The tumors regressed markedly in size as a result of the repetition of PEIT. There were no severe complications in either patient, except for slight pain and transient mild dysphagia. PEIT may be a useful treatment for patients with advanced thyroid papillary cancer and/or for those patients at high risk for surgical remedies; it is a viable option for patients with inoperable disease. Received: February 12, 1999 / Accepted: May 15, 2000