Bronchoscopic cryotherapy: preliminary experience.

Our preliminary experience with the bronchoscopic application of cryotherapy using rapid decompression of liquid nitrous oxide as cooling agent is reported. Seventeen applications through rigid bronchoscopy in twelve patients were performed. A single cryotherapy session was successful in the debulking of obstructive malignant lesions of the central airways in five patients (four non-small cell carcinoma, one renal cell cancer metastasis), and in the treatment of a capillary haemangioma (one patient). Two sessions were successful in the treatment of a metastatic melanoma (one patient) and benign granulation tissue (one patient). Cryotherapy was also successful in the treatment of early bronchial cancer (carcinoma in situ) in four patients, requiring repetitive sessions in two. There were no complications or side-effects. These preliminary findings confirm the safety and efficacy of bronchoscopic cryotherapy in a variety of airway lesions.