Cryoablation Spot Treats Cancer in the Lung, Extends Survival
Frozen balls of ice can safely kill cancerous tumors that have spread to the lungs, according to the first prospective multicenter trial of cryoablation. The results were presented on April 14, 2013, at the Society of Interventional Radiology’s 38th Annual Scientific Meeting in New Orleans.
“Cryoablation has potential as a treatment for cancer that has spread to the lungs from other parts of the body and could prolong the lives of patients who are running out of options,” said David A. Woodrum, MD, PhD, an author of the study and interventional radiologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. “We may not be able to cure the cancer, but with cryoablation we can at least slow it down significantly and allow patients to enjoy greater quality of life longer,” he added.
Study Details
In the initial results of the ECLIPSE trial (Evaluating Cryoablation of Metastatic Lung/Pleura Tumors in Patients—Safety and Efficacy), 22 subjects with a total of 36 tumors were treated with 27 cryoablation sessions. Cryoablation was 100% effective in killing those tumors at 3-month follow-up. Follow-up at 6 months on 5 of the 22 patients (23%) showed the treated tumors to still be dead.
Interventional radiologists perform cryoablation using a small needle-like probe guided through a nick in the skin to cancerous tumors inside the lung under medical imaging guidance. Once in position, the tip of the instrument is cooled with gas to as low as –100 degrees Celsius. The resulting halo of ice crystals can destroy cancer by interrupting its cellular function, protecting nearby healthy, delicate lung tissue. Lung cryoablation has been promising in part due to the low periprocedural morbidity.
“Most of these patients can go home the day after their cryoablation treatment and resume their normal activities,” Dr. Woodrum said, noting that researchers plan to continue to follow patients for up to 5 years. While cryoablation is being developed for the treatment of metastatic lung cancer, the future looks brighter for individuals who once had nowhere else to turn, said Dr. Woodrum, who was assisted in research by Frank Nichols, MD and Matthew R. Callstrom, MD.
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