Microwave Ablation of Lung Tumours – Clinical Update

Abstract

Thermal ablation offers an intriguing therapeutic option to improve local tumour control and survival in patients with early-stage non-small cell lung cancer or patients with limited metastatic disease from non-lung primaries who are not candidates for surgery, either because of poor cardiopulmonary reserve, anatomic constraints limiting resection, failure of traditional therapies, or refusal of operative approaches. The new field of interventional oncology needs adequate knowledge of the therapeutic tools, advantages and limitations of each method, when and how to apply them, as well as of the new integrative protocols that improve their efficacy. This article provides a clinical review of the role of microwave ablation therapy of primary and metastatic tumours.