Professor MSKCC - Weill Cornell Medical College, United States
Purpose: To review the safety and efficacy of embolization of head and neck bleeding in cancer patients.
Materials and Methods: In this single-center retrospective study, 31 cancer patients who underwent a total of 41 embolizations between 2022 and 2025 were included. Clinical outcomes of interest included days from embolization to discharge, the need for repeat procedures, 30-day mortality, and overall survival. Survival analysis was performed using the Kaplan-Meier estimator to determine survival probabilities at various time points.
Results: Seven patients (23%) underwent multiple embolizations, while two patients (7%) required re-embolization within 7 days. The median time to discharge post-embolization was 3 days, with an interquartile range (IQR) of 1–9 days. The most frequently embolized arteries were the internal maxillary (22%), and facial arteries (17%). The thirty-day survival rate was 77%. Overall, 12 patients (39%) died within one year with a median time from the last embolization to death of 29.5 days (IQR: 17.5–80 days). Estimated survival showed a survival probability of 0.83 (95% CI: 0.67–0.91) at 1 month, 0.71 (95% CI: 0.54–0.82) at 3 months, 0.60 (95% CI: 0.43–0.73) at 6 months, and 0.54 (95% CI: 0.37–0.68) at 12 months.
Conclusion: Embolization of head and neck arteries in cancer patients appears to be a safe and effective intervention, associated with an encouraging survival profile.
