According to the report of American scientists, a minimally invasive procedure known as radiofrequency (RF) ablation is a successful therapy for patients suffering from inoperable lung cancer.
In radiofrequency ablation, healthcare professionals put a special needle transmitting high-frequency electrical currents into a tumor.
This research involved 153 patients with early-stage, inoperable non-small cell lung cancer. It discovered that the two-year survival rate for people who received RF ablation accounted for 57 per cent, in comparison to 51 per cent for patients who received external beam radiation (EBT).
Fewer treatments necessary
The group of researchers from Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, observed that EBT requires various treatments over a period of six weeks and frequently leads to a number of side effects. On the contrary, RF ablation is a single-day outpatient procedure bringing about very few side effects.
One year after the therapy, the survival rate for people who received RF ablation accounted for 78 per cent. At three years, it was 36 percent. At four and five years, it accounted for 27 per cent.
The results of the research are published in the April issue of the journal Radiology.
"Our research has demonstrated that this minimally invasive procedure may effectively treat patients suffering lung cancer who could not undergo operation in one fairly simple treatment. The research also proves that radiofrequency ablation has the same or even more successful effects in terms of both survival and tumor control," Dr Damian Dupuy, director of ablation at Rhode Island Hospital and professor of diagnostic imaging at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, explained in a prepared statement.
"With lung cancer screening for people who are at great risk, we will have a chance to detect lung cancers at earlier stages. In my lifetime, I predict image-guided radiofrequency ablation replacing a lot of surgical procedures for the treatment of cancer as we keep on improving these minimally invasive methods of treatment," Dupuy explained.
