Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) followed by conventional radiotherapy in lung cancer patients 

The synergistics treatment effects of radiation and tumor ablation in lung cancer patients is very exciting.  The toxicity is very low even in patients with severely compromised lung function.  

As smaller tumors are discovered with improvements in detection by CT screening or proteomics less invasive therapies such as tumor ablation and external radiation techniques may replace surgery.  

We have found that the synergistic effects of tumor ablation and radiation apply to solid tumors in other organ systems as well
and continued research in this area is very important.

Bibliographical reference:

Dupuy DE et al.: "Radiofrequency ablation followed by conventional radiotherapy for medically inoperable stage I non-small cell lung cancer", Chest. 2006 Mar;129(3):738-45



Damian E. Dupuy
Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Brown Medical School, Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, RI, USA