Cryoablation Effective, Safe for Metastatic Soft-Tissue Sarcoma in Adults

Percutaneous cryoablation has a favorable safety and efficacy profile in patients with recurrent or metastatic soft-tissue sarcoma (STS) after earlier treatments, according to a study published in the American Journal of Roentgenology (AJR).

“Percutaneous cryoablation should be considered for local control of treatment-refractory STS,” wrote corresponding author Rahul A. Sheth, MD, from the interventional radiology department at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX.

Sheth et al.’s AJR manuscript studied adult patients who underwent percutaneous cryoablation (March 2016–April 2023) for local control of recurrent or metastatic STS after surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy. For each treated lesion, a single interventional radiologist re-reviewed intraprocedural images to assess coverage by the ice ball of the entire lesion, as well as a greater than or equal to 5-mm margin in all dimensions. Extracting complications and outcomes from EHRs, the authors’ primary endpoint for procedure efficacy was 1-year local progression-free survival.

Ultimately, in 141 patients who underwent treatment of 250 recurrent or metastatic STS lesions, percutaneous cryoablation achieved local progression-free survival of 86% at 1 year and 79% at years—with a complication rate of 2%. Local progression was independently associated with inadequate ice-ball coverage and treatment of peritoneal or retroperitoneal lesions.