RF Ablation Successful in Treating Inoperable Lung Cancer

A minimally invasive procedure known as radiofrequency (RF) ablation is effective for treating lung cancer in patients who are not candidates for surgery, according to a recent study.

Damian Dupuy, M.D., director of ablation at Rhode Island Hospital (Providence, RI, USA) and professor of diagnostic imaging at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University (Providence, RI, USA), conducted a study of 153 patients who were treated for early-stage, inoperable lung cancer with RF ablation. The procedure involves using a specialized needle inserted through the skin to transmit high-frequency electrical currents into a tumor.

The overall findings of the study revealed RF ablation safe and tied it to promising long-term survival and local tumor progression outcomes when compared to the older treatment method of external beam radiation (EBT).
EBT, which has been used for decades, requires many treatments over a six-week period. This can frequently lead to a variety of side effects. RF ablation, however, is performed in a single day on an outpatient basis, is minimally invasive and has few side effects.

"Our study has shown that this minimally invasive procedure can successfully treat patients with lung cancer who could not undergo surgery in one fairly simple treatment. The study also shows that radiofrequency ablation is equal to or more effective in terms of both survival and tumor control,” commented Dr. Dupuy. With RF ablation, the Rhode Island Hospital researchers noted a two-year survival rate at 57% compared to 51% using EBT.
"With lung cancer screening for at-risk individuals on the horizon, we will be able to detect lung cancers at earlier stages. In my lifetime, I foresee image-guided radiofrequency ablation replacing many surgical procedures for the treatment of cancer as we continue to improve these minimally invasive treatment methods,” stated Dr. Dupuy.

Other survival rates for stage I, non-small cell cancer treated with RF ablation were 78% for one year, 57% for two years, 36% for three years, and 27% for both four and five years.

The study was published in the April 2007 issue of the journal Radiology.


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