How I do it: radiofrequency ablation and cryoablation of lung tumors

Lung cancer is the most common cause of death in adults. The treatment of choice is surgical resection with lobectomy, but a significant number of patients are non-surgical candidates due to comorbidities or limited pulmonary reserve. Patients may also have recurrent disease after resection or radiotherapy. Image ablation has recently been introduced as a safe, alternative treatment for localized disease in carefully selected patients. This article discusses the principles, technique, and follow-up of the 2 main ablative therapies currently used in the lung, radiofrequency ablation and cryoablation.