Radiofrequency ablation of lung tumours – new perspective in treatment of lung neoplasms

Image-guided percutaneous radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is a minimally invasive technique for the treatment of solid tumours that has only been introduced recently into every day clinical practice. Now it is considered to be a feasible treatment option for patients with primary hepatocellular carcinoma or limited metastatic liver disease.1,2 With the improvement of the technology RFA is now being evaluated for in other types of tumours, including lung neoplasms. As being well known, the lung is the most common site of primary cancer worldwide and is also a common site for metastatic disease. Many of these patients and also the patients with otherwise resectable tumours are not operable due to associated conditions such as age, poor cardiovascular and/or respiratory function and/or other serious coexisting health conditions or because of the size and location of the tumour itself. For all these patients (e.g. patients with limited lung tumours not eligible for surgical resection) radiofrequency ablation seems to be a good treatment option.3-8 Radiol Oncol 2007; 41(1): 33-8. doi:10.2478/v10019-007-0005-x