Study of vein blocking procedure to prepare liver for cancer surgery

The DRAGON Registry is collecting medical information and imaging scans from patients around the world who have had a procedure to block certain blood vessels in the liver before surgery. This procedure, called combined portal and hepatic vein embolization, helps the remaining liver grow larger so surgeons can safely remove cancerous tumors or cancer that has spread to the liver. Researchers are studying how well this approach works and how it affects patient outcomes.

Some liver cancers or metastases cannot be safely removed because there wouldn't be enough healthy liver left afterward. This registry exists to understand whether the vein-blocking procedure effectively helps the liver grow back and makes surgery possible for patients who otherwise couldn't be treated.