Jennifer Matthews: Nearly 19,000 cases of liver cancer are diagnosed each year in the United States.
Dr. Howard Ozer: It is one of the more common tumors in the world. In the United States it's a little less common.
Jennifer Matthews: With traditional chemotherapy, only 13 percent of people survive. In his search for something better, Doctor Howard Ozer uncovered a treatment pioneered in Hong Kong and Paris that has significantly better results.
Dr. Howard Ozer: It has been demonstrated that 60 to 70% of the patients that have been treated are alive at five years.
Jennifer Matthews: The treatment uses a combination of popyseed oil and a radioactive isotope called I-131.
Dr. Howard Ozer: You have to be able to deliver therapy directly into the liver. A catheter is inserted and threaded up and the radioactive isotope is infused. It is localized there and as a result the radioactivity is released locally to the tumor.
Jennifer Matthews: Doctor Ozer says all the red tape was worth it to open doors for liver cancer patients. Clinical trials are expected to begin in the United States later this year.
Dr. Howard Ozer: It's extremely exciting to be the first in the country to try something that's that unique.
Jennifer Matthews: Unique and hopefully life-saving. This is Jennifer Matthews reporting.
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