Thermal Ablation Treats Some Lung Cancer

Fifty-seven percent of U.S. lung cancer patients with early-stage, I-II, non-small cell lung cancer treated with thermal ablation lived up to three years.

During thermal ablation, an interventional radiologist uses imaging to guide a small needle through the skin into the tumor. Energy is then transmitted to the tip of the needle to cook and kill the tumor with heat or freeze it with cold.

Only one-third of patients diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer are eligible for surgery — the rest face the reality of having less than 12 months to live, states study author Dr. Damian Dupuy, of Rhode Island Hospital, in Providence.

These new outpatient treatments not only are effective, but allow us to treat patients who historically have no other options. Utilizing imaging and targeted thermal ablation, we can heat and destroy lung tumors, and extend a patients life. As a physician, it’s so gratifying to be able to provide a treatment that is so beneficial to patients and so easy for them to undergo.

The findings are published in the Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology.