Lipiodol (also known as ethiodized oil) is an oil-based iodinated contrast medium that was historically used for myelography and hysterosalpingography ¹. It was later superseded by newer, less hazardous, agents, and now is used primarily as a therapeutic agent. Guerbet is now the sole manufacturer of this agent.

Lipiodol radiolabeled with Re-188
- rhenium-188 Lipiodol is a radiopharmaceutical that can be used to treat patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma. The final lipophilic complex, bis-(diethyldithiocarbamato) nitrido rhenium-188, to be administered through the hepatic artery, is as follows: Re-188 N (DEDC)₂-Lipiodol^3-6.
conventional transcatheter hepatic arterial chemoembolisation (cTACE) ⁷
- transcatheter radioembolization was initially developed using Lipiodol, but now non-Lipiodol drug-eluted glass or resin microspheres are preferred ^8,9

History and etymology

Lipiodol was discovered by the co-founders of the healthcare company Guerbet, Marcel Guerbet and Laurent Lafay in 1901 ¹⁰. Indeed originally it was marketed as Lipiodol Lafay. Initially it was developed as a therapeutic agent - a way to deliver iodine to tissues.

It was first employed in radiology in 1921 by Jean-Athanase Sicard and Jacques Forestier, French radiologists, who developed positive contrast myelography. This supplanted air myelography which had been used until then. Due to complications (e.g. chemical arachnoiditis) Lipiodol was itself superseded by iophendylate.

It was previously marketed as Ethiodol in the US but is now globally sold as Lipiodol.

An article was published in 2021 to celebrate one hundred years of continuous use of Lipiodol in radiology ¹¹.

References

1. Ronald L. Eisenberg. Radiology. (1994) ISBN: 9780815130529 - Google Books
2. Yin X, Guo Y, Li W et al. Chemical Shift MR Imaging Methods for the Quantification of Transcatheter Lipiodol Delivery to the Liver: Preclinical Feasibility Studies in a Rodent Model. Radiology. 2012;263(3):714-22. doi:10.1148/radiol.12111916 - Pubmed
3. Boschi A, Uccelli L, Duatti A et al. A Kit Formulation for the Preparation of 188Re-Lipiodol: Preclinical Studies and Preliminary Therapeutic Evaluation in Patients with Unresectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma. Nucl Med Commun. 2004;25(7):691-9. doi:10.1097/01.mnm.0000130241.22068.45 - Pubmed
4. Mallia M, Chirayil V, Dash A. Improved Freeze-Dried Kit for the Preparation of ReN-DEDC/lipiodol for the Therapy of Unresectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma. Appl Radiat Isot. 2018;137:147-53. doi:10.1016/j.apradiso.2018.03.018 - Pubmed
5. Wang S, Lin W, Chen M et al. Radiolabelling of Lipiodol with Generator-Produced 188Re for Hepatic Tumor Therapy. Appl Radiat Isot. 1996;47(3):267-71. doi:10.1016/0969-8043(95)00300-2 - Pubmed
6. Richard P. Baum. Therapeutic Nuclear Medicine. (2014) ISBN: 9783540367192 - Google Books
7. Salem R & Lewandowski R. Chemoembolization and Radioembolization for Hepatocellular Carcinoma. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2013;11(6):604-11; quiz e43-4. doi:10.1016/j.cgh.2012.12.039 - Pubmed
8. Sangro B, Iñarrairaegui M, Bilbao J. Radioembolization for Hepatocellular Carcinoma. J Hepatol. 2012;56(2):464-73. doi:10.1016/j.jhep.2011.07.012 - Pubmed
9. Poursaid A, Jensen M, Huo E, Ghandehari H. Polymeric Materials for Embolic and Chemoembolic Applications. J Control Release. 2016;240:414-33. doi:10.1016/j.jconrel.2016.02.033 - Pubmed
10. Bonnemain B & Guerbet M. [The History of Lipiodol (1901-1994) or How a Medication May Evolve with the Times]. Rev Hist Pharm (Paris). 1995;42(305):159-70. - Pubmed
11. Bonnemain B. History of Contrast Media: Celebrating the Centenary of the Use of Lipiodol in Radiology. Erciyes Med J. 2021;43(6):626-30. doi:10.14744/etd.2021.76429