2706 Ischemic Duodenal Ulcer: A Rare Complication of Embolization of the Gastroduodenal Artery in Yttrium-90 Radioembolization Therapy

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Selective internal radiation therapy (radioembolization) with yttrium-90 (Y-90) resin microspheres is an effective and increasingly popular treatment option for unresectable primary and metastatic liver malignancies. Gastric complications are detected in 4% to 27% of liver radioembolization cases. Most of these cases arise from non-targeted flow of microspheres with aberrant deposition into various non-selected organs. The gastroduodenal artery is routinely embolized prior to deposition Y-90 microspheres to decrease the risk of non-targeted dissemination of the microspheres. We present a rare case of duodenal ulcer which developed as a result of ischemia induced by embolization of the gastroduodenal artery. CASE DESCRIPTION/METHODS: A 68 year-old woman with a history of stage IV colon adenocarcinoma with metastasis to the liver presented to the hospital with a several week history of severe abdominal pain two months after receiving radioembolization therapy with Y-90 microspheres. She was found to have a duodenal ulcer and was treated with acid suppression therapy. She was re-evaluated six months later for severe abdominal pain. Repeat endoscopy showed a larger duodenal ulcer with multiple coils eroding through the center of the ulcer bed suggesting ischemic injury caused directly from the embolization coils. She was treated with acid suppressive therapy with resolution of her symptoms. DISCUSSION: Radioembolization with Y-90 microspheres is now a widely performed locoregional treatment for primary and metastatic liver lesions not amenable to resection. Our case is unique because the patient’s duodenal ulcer was likely ischemia-induced from mechanical occlusion of and direct injury to the gastroduodenal artery from the embolization coils. It is imperative that clinicians caring for patients who have received radioembolization therapy be familiar with the many gastrointestinal complications associated with this therapy. There is increasing awareness of radiation-induced mucosal injury in the literature. However, providers should also know that despite the presence of multiple collaterals in the gastroduodenal territory, chronic coil-induced ischemia can also form ulcers as a complication of selective embolization of the gastroduodenal artery.