Lung Ablation: Whats New?

Lung cancer had an estimated incidence of 221,200 in 2015, making up 13% of all cancer diagnoses. Tumor ablation is an important treatment option for nonsurgical lung cancer and pulmonary metastatic patients. Radiofrequency ablation has been used for over a decade with newer modalities, microwave ablation, cryoablation, and irreversible electroporation presenting as additional and possibly improved treatment options for patients. This minimally invasive therapy is best for small primary lesions or favorably located metastatic tumors. These technologies can offer palliation and sometimes cure of thoracic malignancies. This article discusses the current available technologies and techniques available for tumor ablation.