Radiofrequency ablation effective treatment for inoperable lung cancer

OAK BROOK, Ill.—Lung cancer patients who are not candidates for surgery now have another safe and effective treatment option: radiofrequency (RF) ablation, according to a new study published in the April issue of the journal Radiology.
The Brown Medical School and Rhode Island Hospital study showed that RF ablation used to treat early-stage, inoperable cancer resulted in outcomes that were equal to or better than those achieved through external beam radiation (EBT), a decades-old alternative to the surgical removal of cancerous tissue.
“In our study, RF ablation produced meaningful results in terms of both survival and tumor control,” said Damian E. Dupuy, M.D., director of tumor ablation at Rhode Island Hospital and professor of diagnostic imaging at Brown Medical School in Providence. “The best two-year survival rate for early-stage lung cancer using EBT is 51 percent, compared to 57 percent with ablation.”