Efficacy Evaluation and Prognosis Analysis of CT-Guided Radiofrequency Ablation for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Background: Lung cancer has a high morbidity and mortality, and has the highest incidence of all malignancies in men in China. In recent years, radiofrequency ablation (RFA) has become the fourth promising treatment for lung cancer. Method: We followed up patients with non-small cell lung cancer in the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University to investigate the survival, complications and prognosis of RFA. Results: Among 34 patients, there were 25 men and nine women (age range 22–84 years; 64% aged 60–80 years. The mean diameter of lung lesions was 2.46±0.89 cm. The pathological types were adenocarcinoma (27/34, 79.41%) and squamous cell carcinoma (7/34, 20.59%). Half of the patients had reached stage IV at the time of the study. Sixteen patients had elevated carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA). Six patients did not receive any further treatment after RFA and nine received chemotherapy combined with targeted therapy. The median follow-up period was 18 (7.0–33.5) months. Complications of RFA were reported in 15 patients (44.12%) and the most common were pneumothorax and pleural effusion. The risk of complications was higher in smokers than in non-smokers (P<0.05). The median overall survival was 22 (2.58–41.42) months, and the overall survival rate was 69.78% (1 year), 59.10% (18 months) and 48.85% (2 years). The survival rate of patients with lung lesions diameter ≤2 cm was significantly higher than that of patients with lesion diameter >2 cm (P<0.05). The annual survival rate of patients with elevated serum CEA before RFA was significantly lower than that of patients with normal serum CEA (P<0.05). Patients with chemotherapy combined with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) had significantly higher survival rates compared with patients with only chemotherapy or TKI/no treatment (P<0.05). Conclusion: CT-guided RFA is a safe and effective treatment for lung cancer. Small lesions and combined therapy can result in longer survival. Patients with serum increased CEA have poor survival.