Thermal Ablation of Lung Tumors

Thermal ablation can be applied to treat any thoracic malignancy: primary lung cancers, recurrent primary lung cancers, metastatic disease, chest wall masses, and painful, bony metastases. Since the first reported use of thermal ablation for lung cancer in 2000 there has been an explosive use of the procedure, and by 2010 the number of procedures to treat thoracic malignancy is expected to exceed 150,000 per year. Presently, thermal ablation is best used for patients with early-stage lung cancers in patients who are not surgical candidates, patients with small and favorably located pulmonary metastases, and patients in whom palliation of tumor-related symptoms is the goal. Radiofrequency ablation, microwave ablation, and cryoablation are novel treatment modalities for lung cancer and can safely accomplish tumor destruction and even complete eradication of tumor in patients who are not candidates for surgical resection. In this article, we discuss technical considerations for each modality and the periprocedure and postprocedure management of patients with this disease.