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K. Steinke



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    MS23 - Treatment of the Small Malignant Nodule (ID 40)

    • Event: WCLC 2013
    • Type: Mini Symposia
    • Track: Pulmonology + Endoscopy/Pulmonary
    • Presentations: 1
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      MS23.5 - Thermal Ablation for Early Stage Lung Cancer and Oligometastases (ID 571)

      14:00 - 15:30  |  Author(s): K. Steinke

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      Abstract
      Lung cancer is the number one cancer killer worldwide accounting for more cancer deaths than colorectal cancer, breast cancer and prostate cancer combined. While the outlook is dismal in advanced lung cancer, when patients are diagnosed once they have become symptomatic, the prognosis is more favourable in early stage node-negative disease. Small lung cancers are increasingly diagnosed as incidental findings on cross-sectional imaging such as CT-coronary angiogram (CTCA), CT-pulmonary angiogram (CTPA), CT angiograms for vascular conditions or CT -intravenous pyelogram (CT-IVP). As many as 15% of patients with early stage NSCLC are not eligible for surgery due to comorbidities, usually poor cardio-respiratory reserve. This number doubles in the patient population 75y and older. Approximately 30% of patients dying of malignancy have pulmonary metastases at autopsy with some primary cancers metastasising exclusively to the lungs. In the setting of primary cancer site being under control, reasonably long disease free interval (DFI) and oligometastatic lung disease with metastases of reasonable size and in amenable positions, data shows a survival benefit for metastasectomy in a selected patient population. Metastasectomies, even if performed as sub-lobar or wedge resections, often carry a substantial morbidity and have a major impact on quality of life. Thermal ablations can be performed in an outpatient setting, they spare healthy tissue, are repeatable and are extremely well tolerated. Thermal ablation has been applied to lung tumours for over a decade and has managed to become an established minimally invasive therapy option for a selected patient population. It is used as a therapeutic means in primary and secondary lung cancer, both with a curative and palliative intent. Combination of thermal ablation with radiotherapy for NSCLC should be a viable consideration in the therapy planning pathway, with available radiofrequency ablation (RFA)/external radiation therapy (XRT) data showing convincing 5y cumulative survival rates of 39% at no additional toxicity. Microwave ablation (MWA) represents the most recent addition to the growing armamentarium of minimally invasive thermal ablation therapies. Advantages of microwave over RF energy are perceived to be many. RF heating requires an electrical conduction path and is therefore less effective in areas of low electrical conductivity and high baseline impedance such as lung parenchyma. Unlike RF and laser, microwaves can even penetrate through the charred or desiccated tissues that build up around all hyperthermic ablation applicators, resulting in limited power delivery for non-microwave energy systems. Further advantages of MWA over RFA are that the system does not require grounding pads, thus avoiding pad site burns, that implanted cardiac devices are less prone to malfunction during MWA than during RFA and that heating occurs faster with is less susceptibility to heat sink, allowing for larger and more homogenous ablation volumes. Multiple microwave antennas can be powered simultaneously to maximise the ablation volume when placed in close proximity to each other, or when widely spaced, to ablate several tumours simultaneously, particularly helpful in the case of multiple metastatic ablations. This presentation will focus on the indications for pulmonary thermal ablation, the limitations of the procedure and the advantages of MWA over RFA.

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