In recent years, with the improvement of people's awareness of physical examination and the more accurate detection equipment, the detection rate of pulmonary nodules is getting higher and higher. Surgical resection is the first choice for the treatment of malignant pulmonary nodules, but multiple pulmonary nodules, nodules in complex areas and those with surgical contraindications are not suitable for surgery. As an effective, less invasive and low-cost treatment, ablation has developed rapidly in the treatment of multiple pulmonary nodules. This article introduces the progress of several common ablation techniques (radiofrequency ablation, microwave ablation, cryoablation) in the treatment of multiple pulmonary nodules, the indications and contraindications of ablation techniques, the efficacy evaluation and complications after ablation therapy, and the prospects of ablation techniques in the treatment of multiple pulmonary nodules.
ObjectiveTo evaluate the safety and efficacy of simultaneous surgical resection combined with thermal ablation in sequential treatment of patients with multiple primary lung cancer (MPLC). MethodsPatients with MPLC who underwent simultaneous, sequential surgical resection combined with thermal ablation at Shangjin Branch of West China Hospital of Sichuan University from 2023 to 2024 were retrospectively included, and their perioperative and follow-up data were analyzed. ResultsA total of 23 MPLC patients with a mean age of 51.61±12.38 years, 4 males and 19 females were included. Cumulatively, 48 lesions were resected and 23 lesions were ablated. About half of the patients (52.17%) had surgery and ablation treatment located in the same lung. All patients completed the combined treatment without intraoperative complications. Four patients had postoperative complications, and were effectively managed and successfully discharged. The median postoperative hospital stay was 4.00 (4.00, 4.00) days. The median follow-up duration was 11.78 ± 4.90 months, with a local control rate (LCR) of 100.00% at 6 months postoperatively. No deaths or tumor occurred during follow-up. Conclusion Simultaneous surgery with thermal ablation in sequential treatment for MPLC is safe, flexible and effective, providing a new option for this group of patients, but further studies are needed to evaluate its long-term efficacy.
Objective To identify the risk factors for postoperative recurrence of peripheral solid small-nodule lung cancer (PSSNLC) (T≤2 cm), and to explore the effects of surgery types on prognosis. Methods We extracted data from Western China Lung Cancer Database (WCLCD), a prospectively maintained database at the Department of Thoracic Surgery, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, and Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database for peripheral solid small-nodule lung cancer patients (T≤2 cm N0M0, stageⅠ) who underwent surgerybetween 2005 and 2016. We used univariable and multivariable logistic regression to analyze risk factors for recurrence of PSSNLC. We applied propensity-score matching to compare the long-term results of segmentectomy and lobectomy, as well as the survival of patients from WCLCD and SEER. We finally included 4 800 patients with PSSNLC (T≤2 cm N0M0) (WCLCD∶SEER=354∶4 446). We matched 103 segmentectomies and 350 lobectomies in T≤1 cm, and 280 segmentectomies and1 067 lobectomies in 1 cm<T≤2 cm at a ratio of 1∶4 according to the propensity scores. Results The results of multivariable logistic regression showed that older age (HR=1.04, 95%CI 1.03-1.05, P<0.001), male (HR=1.60, 95%CI 1.37-1.88, P<0.001), squamous carcinoma (HR=1.65, 95%CI 1.40-1.95, P<0.001), lymph node removed (HR=0.97, 95%CI 0.96-0.99, P<0.001) were risk factors for recurrence after surgery. We found that segmentectomy and lobectomy could reach similar survival in PSSNLC patient with either T≤1 cm or 1 cm<T≤2 cm. Analyses of 1 441 patients with PSSNLC after matching (WCLCD∶SEER=325∶1 116) indicated that the 5-year overall survival rate of the patients in WCLCD was better than that in SEER database ( 89.8% vs. 77.1%, P<0.001). Conclusion Older age, male, squamous carcinoma, and lymph node removed are the risk factors for recurrence of PSSNLC. Segmentectomy shows similar survival in PSSNLC patient with either T≤1 cm or 1 cm<T≤2 cm N0M0. The patients in the WCLCD shows better survival compared with of the patients in the SEER database.