Needle-Based Heat Therapy Offers Minimally Invasive Alternative to Surgery for Some Tumors

Treating certain liver tumors and metastases may no longer require invasive surgery, thanks to minimally invasive techniques that use needles to destroy tumors with heat. These advanced procedures are achieving oncological outcomes comparable to traditional surgery, but with significantly reduced complications and much faster patient recovery.

Dr. Hernán G. Bertoni, a specialist in oncological interventionalism and embolotherapy at the Instituto Alexander Fleming, explained that his specialty uses real-time imaging to target tumors without conventional surgery. Procedures can be performed directly through the skin or by navigating arteries and veins using catheters. "When we operate, we don't usually look at the patient, we look at the monitor, we use it as a guide," Bertoni illustrated.

The growing body of evidence supporting these techniques reached a turning point with new data on liver metastases from colorectal cancer. The 2024 Phase III Collision trial demonstrated that for selected patients with small liver metastases (up to 3 centimeters), thermal ablation yielded survival rates similar to surgery, accompanied by fewer adverse events and shorter hospital stays. These findings were presented at ASCO 2024 and published in The Lancet Oncology.

Bertoni highlighted that these procedures can allow patients to be discharged just hours after the intervention. The Instituto Alexander Fleming is collaborating with Fleni for these interventions and plans to integrate its own technological capabilities, including a hybrid operating room combining CT and angiography. The focus is on treating primary and secondary liver tumors, as well as lung metastases, with tools like thermal ablation, where a fine needle or "antenna" is inserted directly into the tumor under imaging guidance.

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When we operate, we don't usually look at the patient, we look at the monitor, we use it as a guide.