Abstract Rationale Cryoablation is an emerging local therapy for lung cancer. It could induces tumor cell death and stimulates an immune response. cryoablation has been reported to be applicable for early-stage lung cancer patients who are ineligible for surgery, and can also be used in advanced lung cancer to reduce tumor burden. However, its optimal target patients population has not yet been clearly defined, and its safety, particularly its impact on patients’ pulmonary function, has not been conclusively confirmed. Methods This retrospective study included 94 patients with 107 pulmonary nodules who underwent percutaneous cryoablation between May 2022 and May 2024. Participants were categorized into curative treatment for early-stage lung lesions and those receiving cytoreductive palliative treatment for advanced or recurrent malignancies or metastases. The primary outcome measured were local control rate, local recurrence free survival. Secondary outcomes included changes in pulmonary function post-cryoablation. Results A total of 71 patients with 86 early-stage lung lesions and 21 patients with recurrent cases of advanced lung cancer or metastasis underwent cryoablation (Figure 1, Table 1 and 2). For curative treatment, pure ground-glass nodules (pGGNs) exhibited a 100% local control rate and local recurrence survival (Figure 2B). In contrast, two patients with subsolid or solid nodules experienced local recurrence two years following ablation (Figure 2B). However, patients with second primary lung cancers (SPLC) would develop new lesions outside the ablation zone (Figure 2C). For palliative treatment, cryoablation combined with systemic anti-tumor therapy couldn’t improve recurrence-free survival (Figure 2D). The procedure did not significantly affect lung function (Figure 3). Conclusion Cryoablation demonstrates promising local control and recurrence-free survival for pGGNs and maintains a good safety profile. However, patients with a prior history of lung cancer require vigilant monitoring for distant recurrence. The efficacy for advanced lung cancer or pulmonary metastasis remains to be explored. This abstract is funded by: National Natural Science Foundation of China (No 82173182), Science and Technology Project of Sichuan (No 2023NSFSC1939)
Tian et al. (Fri,) studied this question.