Tumor Ablation & Chemoembolization (TACE)
Tumour ablation and chemoembolization (TACE) are two minimally invasive, image-guided treatments. Ablation destroys a small tumour in place using heat or cold delivered through a needle, while TACE sends concentrated chemotherapy straight into a liver tumour through a catheter and then blocks its blood supply. Both treat tumours when surgery is not suitable.
Medically reviewed by the Florence Healthcare medical team · Last reviewed June 2026
Overview
These treatments are carried out by our interventional radiology team through a needle or catheter rather than an open operation. In ablation, a fine needle is guided into the tumour using CT or ultrasound and energy destroys it where it sits — heat from radiofrequency or microwave energy, or extreme cold in cryoablation — which suits small tumours in the liver, kidney or lung. In transarterial chemoembolization, or TACE, a thin catheter is steered through the artery feeding a liver tumour; concentrated chemotherapy is delivered into the cancer and the supplying vessel is then blocked, trapping the drug against the tumour while cutting off its blood supply. Both are repeatable and offer a route when surgery is not suitable.
From your first contact, a dedicated international-patient coordinator guides your care. Our specialists provide a remote review of your scans and reports to confirm which technique fits your case, and you receive a transparent, itemized cost estimate before you travel.
Who is a candidate?
- Adults with small tumours of the liver, kidney or lung that are suitable for ablation
- People with primary liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma) being considered for TACE
- Patients whose tumours cannot be removed surgically because of their position, number or overall health
- Those who prefer or need an organ-sparing alternative to open surgery
- Patients being treated to control disease, relieve symptoms or bridge towards possible surgery or transplant
- People who may benefit from repeat or combined image-guided treatments over time
What happens
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Preparation
You have detailed imaging — CT or MRI — so the team can locate the tumour precisely and choose between ablation and TACE. Blood tests check your clotting and organ function, and for TACE a planning angiogram is sometimes performed to map the arteries feeding a liver tumour. Your team explains the plan and which form of anaesthesia or sedation you will have.
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During the procedure
For ablation, the radiologist guides a thin needle into the tumour under CT or ultrasound and applies heat or cold to destroy it in place. For TACE, a catheter is passed through an artery to the liver tumour, chemotherapy is delivered directly into it and the feeding vessel is then blocked. Most patients are under local anaesthetic with sedation, though some ablations use general anaesthesia.
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Afterwards & recovery
You are monitored for a few hours and usually go home the same day or after one night. Mild pain, tiredness or a short-lived fever or flu-like feeling can occur, especially after TACE, and settles with simple medication. Follow-up scans after several weeks show how the tumour has responded, and either technique can be repeated if further treatment is needed.
Benefits
- Minimally invasive — carried out through a needle or catheter with no large incision
- Organ-sparing — targets the tumour while preserving healthy surrounding tissue
- A treatment option when surgery is not suitable or carries too much risk
- Usually a day case or overnight stay with a faster recovery than open surgery
- Repeatable and easily combined with other oncology treatments as part of a wider plan
Risks & considerations
- Pain, tiredness, nausea or a short-lived fever or flu-like feeling, more common after TACE (post-embolization syndrome)
- Bleeding, infection or injury to nearby structures from the needle or catheter
- Incomplete treatment, so more than one session may be needed for full effect
- Temporary effect on liver or kidney function depending on the organ and technique
- Contact your medical team straight away if you develop worsening pain, a high or persistent fever, redness or discharge at the procedure site, or yellowing of the skin or eyes, as these can be signs of a complication needing prompt attention
Conditions this treats
Where it is performed
This procedure is delivered by our Radiology & Imaging Department.
Learn more before you decide
Provider-reviewed guides on the related conditions, symptoms and tests in our Health Library.
Tumor Ablation & Chemoembolization (TACE) — frequently asked questions
Once our specialists have reviewed your case, your coordinator sends a transparent, itemized estimate covering the imaging, the ablation or TACE procedure, any equipment or chemotherapy used, hospital care and follow-up scans. We do not quote fixed prices online because the right technique and number of sessions are individual to each patient.
Yes. You can securely send your CT or MRI scans and reports, and our interventional oncology team provides a remote second opinion on whether ablation or TACE suits your case — before you make any travel arrangements.
Ablation uses a needle guided into the tumour to destroy it directly with heat (radiofrequency or microwave) or cold (cryoablation), and works best for small tumours. TACE uses a catheter in the artery to deliver chemotherapy straight into a liver tumour and then block its blood supply. Our team advises which is right, and sometimes the two are combined.
Ablation is mainly used for small tumours of the liver, kidney and lung, while TACE is used for liver tumours, especially primary liver cancer. Whether either is suitable depends on the size, number and position of the tumours, which we assess from your imaging.
Many patients plan for around one to two weeks, allowing time for imaging, the procedure and an initial check before travelling home. If more than one session is advised, your coordinator will explain the schedule and confirm the exact timeline.
Yes. Both ablation and TACE can be repeated if a tumour recurs or further areas need treating, and they are often used alongside surgery, systemic chemotherapy or other liver-directed therapies as part of a plan agreed by our multidisciplinary team.
Related treatments
Considering tumor ablation & chemoembolization (tace)?
Share your reports for a medical second opinion and a transparent, itemized cost estimate — usually within 48 hours.