Ablation for lung cancer: hot or cold intervention

• Published in: Thorax Vol. 79; no. 7; pp. 605 - 606
• Main Author: Shah, Pallav L
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and British Thoracic Society 01.07.2024; BMJ Publishing Group LTD
• Subjects: Ablation; Bronchoscopy; Catheter Ablation - methods; Cryosurgery - methods; Cryotherapy; Editorial; Humans; Lung Cancer; Lung diseases; Lung Neoplasms - surgery; Medical screening; Metastasis; Patients; Temperature; Thorax; Tumors; United States > US; Bronchoscopy; Lung Cancer
• ISSN: 0040-6376; 1468-3296; 1468-3296
• DOI: 10.1136/thorax-2023-221369

Correspondence to Professor Pallav L Shah, Respiratory Medicine, Royal Brompton Hospital, London, SW3 6NP, UK; pallav.shah@ic.ac.uk Over the past two decades, there has been a notable shift in the natural history and epidemiology of lung cancer. A multicentre trial conducted in Japan has demonstrated that segmental resections with systematic lymph node resections have similar outcomes to lobar resections.3 In order to improve quality of life and functional outcomes following surgical resection suitability for a sublobar resection should be considered in every patient. Thermal ablation has been used for over 10 years and in a meta-analysis of 3432 patients (53 studies) with primary and metastatic lung cancer (all stages) the estimated overall survival rates were 79% for MWA and 89% for RFA for 1 year and 16% for MWA and 41% for RFA at 5 years.4 Progression-free survival was 8.4 months for MWA and 14.6 months for RFA. [...]the conduction of the ice ball and the cellular destruction observed cannot be easily translated.