Cryoablation is effective for local tumour control in patients with pulmonary metastatic disease. Within the ECLIPSE study, cryoablation had no significant impact on the patient’s quality of life (QoL), with the patient disease-specific survival rate remaining higher than the overall survival rate at both three and five years follow-up.
The multicentre single-arm ECLIPSE study1 prospectively evaluated the feasibility and effectiveness of CA in patients with pulmonary metastatic disease. Patients who had one to five metastatic lung tumours with a diameter of less than or equal to 3.5cm were eligible and treated with cryoablation. Local tumour control was the primary endpoint of this study, with cancer-specific survival, overall survival, and the QoL as secondary endpoints. QoL outcomes were assessed using the Karnofsky Performance Score, the eastern cooperative oncology group performance score, and the short form-12 health survey.
The ECLIPSE study enrolled 40 patients across three sites in the USA and one site in Europe, treating a total of 60 metastatic pulmonary tumours across 48 cryoablation treatments. Patients were followed over a period of five years and their disease status was monitored.
The study elucidated that cryoablation was effective in local tumor control within 87.9% of patients (29 of 33) and 79.2% (19 of 24) per tumour and 75.0% (15 of 20) per patient, at three and five years, respectively. Disease-specific survival was 74.8% at three years, and 55.3% at five years, whereas overall survival at three and five years was 63.2% and 46.7%, respectively. However, during the study, five patients experienced local disease progression. Patient QoL scores did not change significantly (p > 0.05). In the five follow-up years, only 55% of patients had to receive systemic anti-cancer treatment, with 27.5% of patients (11 out of 40) undergoing systemic chemotherapy and 7.5% (3 out of 40) of patients receiving radiation. Therefore, the ECLIPSE study illustrated that cryoablation is an effective method for long-term local tumour control in patients with metastatic pulmonary tumours, does not decrease patient QoL, and lowers the need for systemic treatment.
References
- De Baere T. TEMPORARY REMOVAL: The ECLIPSE Study: Efficacy of cryoablation on metastatic lung tumors with a 5-year follow-up. Journal of Thoracic Oncology. 2021 Aug 9.
