Lung cancer: New technique offers surgery alternative
A revolutionary freezing technique used in the removal of tumours could bring hope to lung cancer patients in the UK.
The treatment, known as direct pulmonary cryosurgery, is being pioneered at the Royal Brompton & Harefield Hospital. It can be used to treat early stage lung cancer patients who cannot have surgery due to impaired lung function or a general poor state of health.
The procedure freezes cancerous tumours inside the body. A 12cm incision is made in the chest wall so the probe can be advanced directly onto the tumor, which is frozen at a temperature of -190°C, using liquid nitrogen as a coolant, turning the tumour into a ball of ice.
Once the whole of the tumour is frozen, the probe is removed. Over a period of three to six months, the frozen tumour disintegrates within the body. The technique is less invasive than conventional procedures and patients can go home after four days.
The trial has been running since 2003, during which time 16 patients have been treated using the technique. Seven of these patients are now showing signs of being completely free of cancer. Although a breakthrough in the treatment of lung cancer, cryosurgery is not a new technique and has been used previously on other organs of the body.
Omar Maiwand, the surgeon who carried out the trial, said: "Removal of the lung is the treatment of choice for patients with early stage lung cancer. However, for about 20% of these patients, removing the diseased lung is not an option as it leaves them with severe breathing problems and a poor quality of life.
"Freezing the tumour is far less damaging to the lung, as it preserves the tissue. Patients benefit from shorter recovery times and have less damage to the function of their lungs," said Maiwand.
Dr Siow Ming Lee, lung cancer expert at Cancer Research UK, said the findings were a remarkable breakthrough for lung cancer sufferers. "This was a small study and further studies are needed to clarify the role of direct cryosurgery versus the conventional approach of radiotherapy and chemotherapy," he said.
