Percutaneous Image-Guided Microwave and Cryoablation for Lung Sarcoma

Leesburg, VA, October 6, 2021—According to ARRS’ American Journal of Roentgenology (AJR), percutaneous image-guided microwave and cryoablation allow for repeat minimally invasive treatment of sarcoma lung metastases with manageable, predominantly mild complications.

“High primary technical success, local control, and overall survival support microwave and cryoablation for treating sarcoma lung metastases,” concluded 2019 ARRS Scholar Florian J. Fintelmann of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Noting that ablation modality and tumor location did not affect local progression (p>.05), “treatment failure was low, especially for small tumors,” Fintelmann continued.

Fintelmann and colleagues’ retrospective cohort study included 27 patients (16 women, 11 men; median age, 64 years; Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance score, 0–2) who underwent 39 percutaneous CT-guided ablation sessions (21 microwave, 18 cryoablation; 1–4 sessions per patient) to treat 65 sarcoma lung metastases (median 1 tumor per patient, range 1–12; median tumor diameter 11 mm, range 5–33 mm; 25% non-peripheral) from 2009 to 2021.  

Estimated 2-year local control rate for microwave versus cryoablation was 95% and 98% for tumors ≤1 cm, and 62% and 79% for tumors >1 cm. Additionally, tumor size ≤1 cm was associated with decreased cumulative incidence of local progression (p=.048).

Reiterating the suitability of both percutaneous microwave and cryoablation for treating tumors ≤1 cm, whether peripheral or non-peripheral, “complications, if they occur, are not life-threatening,” the authors of this AJR article added.

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Founded in 1900, the American Roentgen Ray Society (ARRS) is the first and oldest radiological society in North America, dedicated to the advancement of medicine through the profession of radiology and its allied sciences. An international forum for progress in medical imaging since the discovery of the x-ray, ARRS maintains its mission of improving health through a community committed to advancing knowledge and skills with an annual scientific meeting, monthly publication of the peer-reviewed American Journal of Roentgenology (AJR), quarterly issues of InPractice magazine, AJR Live Webinars and Podcasts, topical symposia, print and online educational materials, as well as awarding scholarships via The Roentgen Fund®.