Dictionary of Cancer Terms
View in Spanish: Oclusión arterial hepática
Hepatic arterial occlusion (heh-PA-tik ar-TEER-ee-ul uh-KLOO-zhun)
A block in blood flow to the liver. It can happen while giving chemotherapy through a catheter in the hepatic artery. Sometimes doctors use drugs or other agents to cause hepatic arterial occlusion on purpose. This block of blood flow to the liver helps kill cancer cells growing in the liver.
Source: National Cancer Institute Dictionary of Cancer Terms, available at www.cancer.gov/dictionary.