Laser Ablation in Liver Tumors

A 12-year study has found that laser ablation with magnetic resonance (MR) guidance is as effective as traditional surgery in the treatment of liver tumors in some patients.

In the largest study of its type and with the longest follow-up, 839 patients at the University of Frankfurt (Frankfurt, Germany) received MR-guided laser-induced thermotherapy (LITT), also known as laser ablation, to destroy tumor tissue. The average survival rate from the date of diagnosis was 3.8 years, which compares favorably to survival rates after traditional surgery (approximately 1.5-5.0 years).

Laser ablation can be used to treat tumors that occur in both halves of the liver--often during the same treatment--which is practically impossible in traditional surgery where typically only the left or right lobe is resected. If new tumors are found during follow-up exams, it is much easier to repeat laser treatment than to subject the patient to another open surgery.

Laser treatment can be done on an outpatient basis under local anesthesia. Typically, the patient stays only several hours, instead of several weeks in the hospital after surgical liver resection

"Many surgeons are already performing local ablation instead of resection, because they have already recognized the positive effect of local ablation,” said the study's lead author, Dr. Martin Mack, an associate professor in the department of diagnostic and interventional radiology at the University of Frankfurt. "I believe that minimally invasive tumor ablation together with chemotherapy will play the most important role in the treatment of tumors in the years to come.”




Related Links:
University of Frankfurt