"Advanced stage liver tumors may be safely treated through imageguided injections of an immunotherapy approved for melanoma according to a study presented today at the Society of Interventional Radiologys Annual Scientific Meeting. Researchers found that talimogene laherparepvec TVECa genetically modified version of the herpes viruscan be safely administered into active cancer in the liver and stimulate the immune system to destroy cancer cells throughout the body.  Advanced stage liver tumors including ones that have spread from other locations have limited treatment options because the patients can be in poor health further the complex structure of the organ can make it difficult to target with standard approaches said Steven S. Raman M.D. professor of radiology surgery and urology at the David Geffen School of Medicine University of California Los Angeles and lead author of the study. This minimally invasive treatment offers patients a novel way to directly and indirectly attack the cancer cells. Using imageguided needle injections researchers at centers in the United States Switzerland and Spain treated  advancedstage cancer patients with liver metastases including those with cirrhosis. Patients were given escalating doses of TVEC up to the maximum FDAapproved dose for melanoma. Injection volume was based on lesion size. Researchers found the patients tolerated the treatment well with expected side effects including temporary flulike symptoms.  As part of the study researchers will follow patients for up to two years and new trials to investigate the effectiveness of the drug in treating advanced cancer in the liver are being planned. Additional investigation is also planned to test the therapy in combination with a checkpoint inhibitor to activate a stronger immune response.  Imageguided treatments have expanded the options available for patients with liver cancer from innovative approaches to biopsies to resections to chemo said Raman. This is an exciting way to look to the future but patients living with advanced liver cancer should understand that this treatment will not be available for several years except through clinical trials.  The authors note several limitations of the current study including the preliminary nature of the results as well as the number of patients tested.  Amgen the pharmaceutical company that makes TVEC was a sponsor of the trial.  Abstract  Early safety from a phase  multicenter openlabel clinical trial of talimogene laherparepvec TVEC injected into liver tumors. S. Raman M. Pless A. Cubillo A. Calvo R. Hecht C. Liu E. Chan J. Chesney A. Prat David Geffen School of Medicine University of California Los Angeles CA Department of Oncology Kantonsspital Winterthur Winterthur Switzerland HM Universitario Sanchinarro CIOCC Madrid Spain Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Maran Madrid Spain Amgen Inc. Thousand Oaks CA James Graham Brown Cancer Center University of Louisville Louisville KY Hospital Clnic University of Barcelona Barcelona Spain. SIR Annual Scientific Meeting March  . This abstract can be found at sirmeeting.org https_releasessirmeeting.org  About the Society of Interventional Radiology  The Society of Interventional Radiology is a nonprofit professional medical society representing more than  practicing interventional radiology physicians trainees students scientists and clinical associates dedicated to improving patient care through the limitless potential of imageguided therapies. SIRs members work in a variety of settings and at different professional levelsfrom medical students and residents to university faculty and private practice physicians. Visit sirweb.org. The Society of Interventional Radiology is holding its Annual Scientific Meeting March   at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles Calif. Visit sirmeeting.org https_releasessirmeeting.org."