Radiofrequency Ablation in Inoperable Lung Cancer Yields Results

(Tuesday, October 24, 2006, 2:30 PM EST)

Patients with lung cancer who were deemed medically inoperable showed mid-to-long-term results when treated with radiofrequency ablation (RFA), according to new research. Over a 30-month period, 16 patients with non-small cell lung cancer underwent 19 RFA treatments and follow-up CT-PET scans. Researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital noted successful completion in all patients, with no 30-day mortality, and 81 percent of patients remained alive after a mean follow-up of nine months. Also, the incidence of major complications remained low. Researchers concluded that RFA treatment in carefully selected, inoperable, lung cancer patients provides excellent control in tumors less than three centimeters.

Lung Cancer Symptoms Have Not Changed

(Tuesday, October 24, 2006, 12:30 PM EST)

Despite technologic advances, the presenting symptoms of lung cancer (LC) have not changed over time, according to a new study. In order to update information on the modern presentation of LC, researchers from the Cleveland Clinic Health System and Cleveland Clinic Foundation conducted a retrospective chart review of 228 patients who presented with lung cancer within the two years prior to the study. Common symptoms on presentation included cough, dyspnea, weight loss, and chest pain. Of the total population, 14.6 percent (42) of patients were asymptomatic and 48 percent (144) had COPD on presentation. Asymptomatic patients were found more likely to have had previous cancer, but less likely to have COPD, when compared with symptomatic patients. Patients without COPD had a lower incidence of cough and dyspnea, than did patients wi
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Contact: Jennifer Stawarz
jstawarz@chestnet.org
847-498-8306
American College of Chest Physicians
25-Oct-2006