Thermal ablation able to treat early-stage lung cancer for high-risk patients
New research in Radiology suggests thermal ablation is a safe, effective primary treatment for stage 1 non-small cell lung cancer for individuals who cannot undergo lung cancer surgery because of age or health status. Researchers have also noted it is non-inferior to stereotactic radiation therapy (SRT).
"Thermal ablation is most often a one-time treatment, unlike [SRT], which requires multiple visits," said study senior author Hyun S. Kim, MD, of the Yale Cancer Center and Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, in a prepared statement. "In addition, ablation delivers highly accurate and precise localized treatment only to cancer cells, minimizing the effects to surrounding tissue and keeping the toxicity low."
Though SRT it is a viable alternative in patients who cannot undergo lung cancer surgery, the radiation can harm healthy tissue surrounding the tumor. Additionally, SRT treatment carries a risk of both short- and long-term toxicities.
Kim and colleagues compared thermal ablation and SRT as treatment options for non-small cell lung cancer using approximately 29,000 patients from the 2004-2013 National Cancer Database. More than 1,100 underwent thermal ablation as a treatment option.
The researchers found both treatment options had similar rates of survival:
- The two-year survival rate in the thermal ablation group was 65.2 percent, compared to 64.5 percent in the SRT group.
- The five-year survival rate in the thermal ablation group was 24.6 percent, compared to 26.1 percent in the SRT group.
Aside from similar rates of survival, thermal ablation, as a one-time treatment option, has lower direct costs for patients and insurance providers. It could potentially be a cost-effective alternative to radiation, Kim concluded.
As a senior news writer for TriMed, Subrata covers cardiology, clinical innovation and healthcare business. She has a master’s degree in communication management and 12 years of experience in journalism and public relations.