Radiofrequency Ablation - Lung, Kidney, Breast, Bone and Liver Tumors

Lung, Kidney, Breast, Bone and Liver Tumors

RFA is performed to treat tumors in lung, liver, kidney, bone and (rarely) in other body organs. Once the diagnosis of tumor is confirmed, a needle-like RFA probe is placed inside the tumor. The radiofrequency waves passing through the probe increase the temperature within tumor tissue and results in destruction of the tumor. Generally RFA is used to treat patients with small tumors that started within the organ (primary tumors) or that spread to the organ (metastases). The suitability of a patient to receive RFA is decided by doctors based on multiple factors. RFA can usually be administered as an out-patient procedure, that may at times require a brief hospital stay. RFA may be combined with locally-delivered chemotherapy to treat hepatocellular carcinoma (primary liver cancer). The low-level heat (hyperthermia) created by the RFA probe causes heat-sensitive liposomes to release concentrated levels of chemotherapy in the margins around the ablated tissue, which is a method commonly used to treat Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Radiofrequency ablation is also used in pancreatic cancer and bile duct cancer