- Irinotecan, a drug commonly given intravenously to treat colon cancer, has been given in chemoembolization procedures in four other studies that have shown that the treatment is generally well tolerated. Researchers are interested in determining whether giving the drug irinotecan directly into the liver using drug-eluting beads is not only well tolerated but also provides a larger dose directly to the tumor as determined by tumor and normal liver tissue biopsies. The liver biopsies are an optional portion of the study.