St. Joseph’s Medical Center Completes 500th Minimally Invasive Y90 Cancer Treatment Procedure

Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Medical Center (SJMC) has reached the milestone of completing 500 Yttrium-90 (Y90) procedures, led by Dr. Pavan Khanna, Chair and Medical Director, Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology.

Radioembolization selectively delivers high doses of internal radiation to tumors through the arteries and utilizes millions of microscopic glass radioactive spheres containing radiation, called Yttrium-90 (Y90). Radioembolization is one of the few treatment options for hepatocellular carcinoma, the second fastest growing cancer and fifth most common cancer. 

Dr. Khanna started the liver cancer treatment program at SJMC in July 2017, making it the first hospital in the Central Valley to offer Y90 radioembolization. Over the past five years, Dr. Khanna’s team has performed more Y90 procedures than any other community hospital on the West Coast, ranking it as one of the top treatment centers in the country.

“I am honored to have performed the 500th Y90 treatment at St. Joseph’s Medical Center,” said Interventional Radiologist Dr. Pavan Khanna. “Since the creation of our program, we have been able to effectively manage and treat many patients in the community, and achieve curative results in many cases. The outcomes for our patients in the community, in addition to awareness about liver cancer, have tremendously improved as a result. We have been able to replicate the results in published studies from the leading academic centers across the country. Our success is based on the multidisciplinary and team based approach to patient care that we have taken with radiation, medical, and surgical oncology.”

Individuals at risk for hepatocellular carcinoma are those with history of prolonged alcohol abuse, patients with cirrhosis from any cause, patients with hepatitis B and C, as well as patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) or fatty liver. Candidates for the Y90 procedure include patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who are not candidates for surgical resection and/or patients who prefer minimally invasive treatment options. Oftentimes this treatment can downstage patients to become candidates for surgical resection or liver transplantation. Individuals should talk with their doctor if they experience right upper quadrant pain, fullness or bloating, loss of appetite, and weight loss, with any of the above risk factors.

SJMC’s Interventional Radiology treatments offer lower risks, less pain, and shorter recovery time compared to open surgery. For more information, visit dignityhealth.org/stockton/ir, and for interview opportunities with Dr. Khanna, contact Kellie Ryan at [email protected].