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Updated: Jun 26, 2026
Thermal Ablation for the Treatment of Abdominal Tumors
Published on: March 7, 2011
Image-Guided Thermal Ablation of Stage 1 Single and Multiple Primary Lung Carcinoma: Five-Year Outcomes
Jamie E Clarke1, Noor Jahanshahi2, Bianca Villegas3
1Department of Radiological Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, 757 Westwood Plaza, Suite 1621, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
Background:
Image-guided thermal ablation has been used for the treatment of primary lung carcinoma but its use in the treatment of multiple lung carcinoma and effects on survival have not been well established.
Objective:
This study compares the long-term survival metrics for stage 1 single primary lung cancer and multiple primary lung cancer (MPLC) in patients treated with image-guided thermal ablation (IGTA).
Methods:
A retrospective institutional review included 37 NSCLC patients (mean age 71.6 ± 8.8 years) with ≥5 years follow-up. In total, 119 IGTA procedures were performed. Among patients with a single tumor (n = 14, 37.8%), each underwent a single ablation session. In contrast, patients with MPLC (n = 23, 62.2%) underwent 88 ablation sessions to treat 105 tumors. Data included demographics, tumor features, procedural details, safety, adverse events, and outcomes. Primary endpoints were 5-year overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), and cancer-specific survival (CSS).
Results:
All ablations were completed successfully. Severe AEs occurred in 5.8% (7/119) of the ablations and were limited to pneumothorax requiring chest tube placement with hospitalization. At the time of ablation, individual nodules were staged at T1A = 46 (38.7%), T1B = 54 (45.4%), T1C = 16 (13.5%) and T2A = 3 (2.5%). Local recurrence was observed in 4/119 (3.3%) ablated tumors, all at stage T1B, and all were retreated with ablation. The 5-year OS was better for patients with MPLC at 85.6% compared to patients with a single tumor at 35.7% (HR = 0.14, p = 0.003, 95% CI: 0.037, 0.51). The 5-year OS for tumors based on T classification for T1A, T1B, TIC and T2A was 71.4%, 66.8%,66.7% and 0%. The 5-year PFS was 77.4% for patients with MPLC compared to 35.7% for patients with single primary lung cancer (HR = 0.25, p = 0.014, 95% CI: 0.084, 0.76). The 5-year CSS was 95.2% for patients with MPLC compared to 83.1% for patients with single primary lung cancer (HR = 0.21, p = 0.16, 95% CI: 0.018, 2.33).
Conclusions:
IGTA is an effective and safe treatment for patients with stage 1 single primary lung cancer and MPLC with limited local recurrence. Tumor size up to 3 cm did not have significant impact on survival. Overall survival was improved in patients with MPLC compared to those with single NSCLC.
Clinical Impact:
IGTA can be safely performed in patients with single primary lung cancer and MPLC, with limited local recurrence rate.
Highlights:
Key Findings: IGTA effectively treats patients with stage 1 single primary lung cancer and MPLC, with 3.3% recurrence, which can be retreated with ablation. The five-year OS was higher in patients with MPLC (85.6%) versus those with single lung cancer (35.7%, p = 0.003). OS by T classification: 71.4% for T1A, 66.8% for T1B, 66.7% for TIC, and 0% for T2A.
Importance:
IGTA effectively treats patients with single primary lung cancer and MPLC with low recurrence. Tumor size < 3 cm showed no impact on overall survival.
