April 11, First-of-its-kind research presented today showed microwave ablation MWA therapy cut pain in half for patients with painful bone and soft-tissue tumors and took less time to complete than radiofrequency ablation. Pain relief lasted over 4 months on average and up to 15 months in some patients, according to results reported at the 29th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Pain Medicine.
Approximately 10, new cases of soft-tissue sarcoma and 2, new cases of bone sarcoma were diagnosed in the United States in , according to statistics published through the American Cancer Society. Managing the often-significant pain related to the tumors can be difficult.
MWA is a relatively new therapy that has been applied to the management of various tumors, including those located in the liver, adrenal gland , thyroid and kidney, but had not yet been described for this indication, the study authors said. Many of the 13 patients in whom a total of 20 MWA procedures were performed showed signs of ongoing disease process. Of the 20 lesions, 16 had metastasized to the lungs, thyroid and other locations.
Twelve of 15 bone lesions were osteolytic, showing degeneration of bone tissue. Before the procedure, the mean average pain score reported by patients was 7. The lesions ranged in size from 12 mm to mm.
MWA is performed percutaneously, or through the skin, by inserting small probes directly into a tumor that are then heated, resulting in thermal coagulation of the tissue. The investigators used an Acculis MTA-2 generator, a frequency source of 4. During the procedure, patients received local anesthesia and nitrous oxide. Insertion of the probe was guided by CT scan.
