Melphalan chemosaturation with percutaneous hepatic artery perfusion and hepatic vein isolation for primary or metastatic cancer in the liver

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) issued full guidance to the NHS in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland on Melphalan chemosaturation with percutaneous hepatic artery perfusion and hepatic vein isolation for primary or metastatic cancer in the liver in April 2021. NICE is currently updating this guidance. The new guidance will be published shortly.  Until then the NHS should continue to follow the recommendations outlined in the current version of the guidance.

Status:

In progress

Technology type:

Procedure

Decision:

Selected

Reason for decision:

Anticipate the topic will be of importance to patients, carers, professionals, commissioners and the health of the public to ensure clinical benefit is realised, inequalities in use addressed, and help them make the best use of NHS resources

Rationale:

Review of existing guidance: IPG691 - Melphalan chemosaturation with percutaneous hepatic artery perfusion and hepatic vein isolation for primary or metastatic cancer in the liver

Process:

IP

ID number:

1062

Description:

The most common types of primary liver cancer are hepatocellular carcinoma (also known as hepatoma) and cholangiocarcinoma. However, cancer in the liver has often metastasised from other sites such as the lung, colon, stomach and eye (particularly ocular melanoma). In the UK, around 750 people are diagnosed with ocular melanoma each year and the most common type is uveal melanoma. About half the people with uveal melanoma will develop metastases, most often in the liver. There is a lack of effective treatment options for people with advanced uveal melanoma. In this procedure, the blood flow from the liver to the rest of the body is diverted (hepatic vein isolation) while the chemotherapy drug (melphalan) is delivered directly into the liver (percutaneous hepatic artery perfusion). Blood leaving the liver is taken out of the body and filtered to remove the drug, then returned. The aim is to destroy the cancer with a very high dose of the drug (chemosaturation) without causing side effects in the rest of the body.

Provisional Schedule

Draft scope consultation:

08 December 2025 - 19 December 2025

Scope published:

19 January 2026

Email enquiries

If you have any queries please email IP@nice.org.uk

Timeline

Key events during the development of the guidance:

For further information on how we develop interventional procedures guidance, please see our interventional procedures programme manual