We recently developed a groundbreaking tool named MIDOS, aimed at revolutionizing liver cancer treatment through Transarterial Radioembolization (TARE). TARE is an innovative procedure where radioactive microspheres are injected into the liver’s arterial supply to target and destroy liver tumors while sparing healthy tissue. However, optimizing this treatment for each individual patient has remained a challenge due to the complex dynamics of microsphere distribution within the liver.
MIDOS (Microsphere Dosimetry in Liver Tumors) emerges as a novel stochastic model that promises to bridge this gap. By leveraging detailed liver vasculature models, MIDOS simulates the delivery of microspheres with unprecedented accuracy, allowing for personalized treatment planning. This includes the ability to predict the microspheres’ travel path, their eventual location, and the amount of radiation delivered to both tumors and healthy liver tissue. The model also factors in variations in microsphere types and their specific properties, such as size and activity level, further tailoring the treatment to the patient’s specific needs.
What sets MIDOS apart is its inclusion of a tumor uptake model, which simulates different tumor responses based on their unique characteristics, such as vascularity. This allows the MIDOS model to provide valuable insights into how the treatment might affect the tumor and surrounding tissue, offering a quantitative basis for optimizing TARE procedures.
The development of MIDOS represents a significant leap forward in personalized cancer treatment, potentially improving outcomes for liver tumor patients by enabling more accurate, tailored radiation dosing. As research continues, the goal is to integrate MIDOS into clinical treatment planning systems, making it a standard tool for optimizing TARE treatments worldwide.
Carlos Huesa-Berral, postdoctoral fellow working on MIDOS
Read the MIDOS paper: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00259-023-06567-9