CT-guided percutaneous radiofrequency ablation in the treatment of stage I thymoma.

Abstract

e18287 Background: Thymoma is an uncommon tumor originating from the epithelial cells of the thymic epithelium. It is commonly associated with myasthenia gravis. Though surgical resection might provide the hope of curing thymoma, potential risks of invasive trauma and post operation complications still exists. Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) has many advantages over traditional surgery including minor trauma. However, surgeons operating the equipment to perform VATS need to be highly specifically trained. Although CT-guided percutaneous radiofrequency ablation (RFA) has emerged as a minimally invasive and curative treatment in other tumors, it has never been used in the treatment of stage I thymoma. Methods: The current study enrolled 13 patients with stage I thymomas whom refused open surgery or VATS. As a result, all patients received first-line CT-guided percutaneous RFA as treatment. The procedure was clearly described and displayed for clinical promoting. Results: The feasibility and treatment effectiveness were also recorded. The median time of ablation was 15 mins (range, 10 - 20 mins). Minimum blood loss was associated with the puncture. All lesions were completely ablated (13/13, 100%). Only one patient out of thirteen had thymoma recurrence at 35.5 months after initial ablation treatment (1/13, 7.7%) at follow-up period (median 80.5 months, range, 64.6-116.9 months). There was no procedure-related death after RFA treatment. Myasthenia gravis was cured in most patients (10/13,76.9%), alleviated in 3 patients (23.1%). The most common complications recorded were fever (13/13, 100%), incisional pain (13/13, 100%), nausea (38.5%), pleural effusion (69.2%), pneumothorax (69.2%) and hemoptysis (84.6%). Conclusions: It is clinically applicable for CT-guided percutaneous RFA to be considered as a safe and effective treatment in stage I thymoma.