Computed tomography-guided percutaneous thermal ablation of pulmonary metastases: safety, local tumor control, and factors associated with treatment failure—a single-centre experience
Retrospective study reveals favorable local tumor control and survival in pulmonary metastases, indicating thermal ablation is a viable lung-preserving option.
Key Points
To evaluate local tumor control, procedural safety, overall survival, and risk factors linked to treatment failure following CT-guided percutaneous thermal ablation of pulmonary metastases.
Retrospective single-center study analyzing 21 consecutive patients (median age 58 years; 10 men, 11 women) who underwent CT-guided thermal ablation for pulmonary metastases.
Ablation modalities included cryoablation (n = 14), microwave ablation (n = 5), and radiofrequency ablation (n = 2), with a median follow-up of 50.8 months.
Local tumor control rates at 6, 12, and 24 months were estimated using Kaplan-Meier analysis, and factors associated with local failure were evaluated by univariate analysis.
Five-year overall survival reached 82.5% (95% CI, 46.1–95.3%), while repeat ablation of the primary treated lesion was required in 1 patient (4.8%).
Distant disease progression occurred in 66.7% of patients during follow-up.
Univariate analysis identified larger tumor size as a significant factor associated with local treatment failure.