Safety and Efficacy Outcomes From a Single-Center Study of Image-Guided Percutaneous Microwave Ablation for Primary and Metastatic Lung Malignancy

INTRODUCTION: Image-guided percutaneous microwave ablation (MWA) is becoming a more common treatment option for patients with primary and metastatic lung malignancies. Nevertheless, there is limited literature on the safety and efficacy of MWA compared with standard-of-care therapy, including surgical resection and radiation. This study will report the long-term outcomes after MWA for pulmonary malignancies and investigate the factors related to efficacy, including lesion size, location, and ablation power. METHODS: Retrospective single-center study analyzing 93 patients who underwent percutaneous MWA for primary or metastatic lung malignancies. Outcomes included immediate technical success, local tumor recurrence, overall survival, disease-specific survival, and complications. RESULTS: At a single institution, 190 lesions (81 primary and 109 metastatic) were treated in 93 patients. Immediate technical success was achieved in all cases. Freedom from local recurrence was 87.6%, 75.3%, and 69.2% and overall survival was 87.7%, 76.2%, and 74.3% at 1 year, 2 years, and 3 years, respectively. Disease-specific survival was 92.6%, 81.8%, and 81.8%. The most common complication was pneumothorax, which occurred in 54.7% (104 of 190) of procedures, with 35.2% (67 of 190) requiring a chest tube. No life-threatening complications occurred. CONCLUSIONS: Percutaneous MWA seems safe and effective for treatment of primary and metastatic lung malignancies and should be considered for patients with limited metastatic burden and lesions less than 3 cm in size.