How helpful are radio active beads for stage 4 colon cancer and what number should the liver result be (is 2 ok)?

Not aware it is used: Of all the treatments for stage 4 colon cancer, i'm not aware of the use of radioactive beads; perhaps it is an experimental treatment which would not yet be available to the public, unless one is in the study. The liver is the most common organ for colon ca to metastasize, but could go to other areas of the body.

Not sure what "2" is: Sir-spheres are highly radioactive yttrium glass microspheres that are injected into the hepatic artery that supplies the colorectal cancer metastasis to the liver tumor. It is designed to treat those that failed traditional chemotherapy. It is effective and prolongs life expectancy. A lung shunt study is required before being treated, perhaps the "2" refers to that test.

More info please: There are more then one kind of radioactive microsphere for treatment of hepatic metastases. Because liver metastases are often the most life limiting issue in stage IV crc, local catheter directed cancer therapies can be very effective. This should be reviewed by a multidisciplinary team to advise you best. Vascular and interventional radiologists are the only providers who in fact perform the tx.

Effective: When stage 4 colon cancer is limited to the liver, this tumor can not metastasize out of the liver but grows locally. As such several lesions at one site can be treated by chemo embolization where an angiogram defines the hepatic artery branch to the tumor. Rather than infusing chemo, radiolabelled Yt microspheres are injected into the tumor and the vessel embolized, effectively destroying tumo