Lung radiofrequency ablation for the treatment of unresectable recurrent non-small-cell lung cancer after surgical intervention.

Kodama, Hiroshi; Yamakado, Koichiro; Takaki, Haruyuki; Kashima, Masataka; Uraki, Junji; Nakatsuka, Atsuhiro; Takao, Motoshi; Taguchi, Osamu; Yamada, Tomomi; Takeda, Kan

PURPOSE A retrospective evaluation was done of clinical utility of lung radiofrequency (RF) ablation in recurrent non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) after surgical intervention. METHODS During May 2003 to October 2010, 44 consecutive patients (26 male and 18 female) received curative lung RF ablation for 51 recurrent NSCLC (mean diameter 1.7±0.9 cm, range 0.6 to 4.0) after surgical intervention. Safety, tumor progression rate, overall survival, and recurrence-free survival were evaluated. Prognostic factors were evaluated in multivariate analysis. RESULTS A total of 55 lung RF sessions were performed. Pneumothorax requiring pluerosclerosis (n=2) and surgical suture (n=1) were the only grade 3 or 4 adverse events (5.5%, 3 of 55). During mean follow-up of 28.6±20.3 months (range 1 to 98), local tumor progression was found in 5 patients (11.4%, 5 of 44). The 1-, 3-, and 5-year overall survival rates were 97.7, 72.9, and 55.7%, respectively. The 1- and 3-year recurrence-free survival rates were 76.7 and 41.1%, respectively. Tumor size and sex were independent significant prognostic factors in multivariate analysis. The 5-year survival rates were 73.3% in 18 women and 60.5% in 38 patients who had small tumors measuring≤3 cm. CONCLUSION Our results suggest that lung RF ablation is a safe and useful therapeutic option for obtaining long-term survival in treated patients.