Non-Surgical Approach Can Treat Lung Cancers

WEDNESDAY, June 18 (HealthDay News) -- A minimally invasive procedure normally used to treat liver cancer also holds promise for lung cancer patients, according to a new study.

In the study, expected to be published in the July edition of The Lancet Oncology, 88 percent of lung cancer patients responded well to treatment with percutaneous image-guided radiofrequency ablation (RFA). RFA is performed in less than an hour and is a non-surgical procedure that targets large tumors with no harm to surrounding healthy tissue. After one year, 70 percent of patients survived at least one year with few side effects; none that impaired lung function, the researchers report.

As alternative to surgery in difficult liver cancer patients, RFA has proven successful, with no negative effect on quality of life, and it requires only a short hospital stay.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in both men and women. Surgery is the standard treatment for early-stage, non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), which constitutes about 80 percent of most malignant lung tumors. Unfortunately not all patients are eligible due to other health reasons. The alternatives, radiotherapy or chemotherapy, do not have good survival rates.

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