In a nutshell
This study looked at whether a treatment for lung cancer, radiofrequency ablation (RFA), is safe and effective.
Some background
A common treatment option for lung cancer is RFA. RFA uses heat made by radio waves to kill cancer cells.
Many patients receiving RFA are not candidates for surgery. RFA has previously been shown to be useful for treating both localized cancer and cancer that has started to spread. The larger the tumor, however, the less successful the treatment usually is.
The safety and usefulness of a new version of RFA known as RFA with a multiple electrode switching system has not yet been assessed in lung cancer. It increases the area that can be ablated. It is thought that this system may be more successful treating larger tumors.
Methods & findings
33 lung cancer patients were included in this study. These patients were not eligible for surgery and had tumors of 2-5 cm in size.
The patients were all treated with RFA with a multiple electrode switching system. Treatment success was measured 2-5 days after RFA by CT scan images (a type of x-ray) of the tumor area. Side effects were measured at 4 weeks following treatment. Response to treatment was measured after an average of 22 months.
At 4 weeks post-treatment, 12% of patients had experienced a significant complication, including fluid surrounding the lungs, or a collapsed lung (when the air escapes into the chest cavity). 39% of patients had a less serious complication such as infection.
12.7% of patients had their cancer continue to grow after 1 year. The figure was the same regardless of the size of the patients’ tumor. The survival rate 1 year after treatment was 82.4% for patients whose cancer had not spread and 79.4% for patient’s whose cancer had spread.
The bottom line
The authors found that RFA performed with a multiple electrode switching system was a safe and effective treatment for lung tumors which were 2-5 cm in size.
The fine print
This study had a very small sample size and follow-up period. It should be repeated on a larger scale in multiple hospitals.
Published By :
Radiology
Date :
Jun 08, 2015
