Spinal metastases treated with bipolar radiofrequency ablation with increased (> 70 °C) target temperature: Pain management and local tumor control

Purpose: To investigate the safety and clinical efficacy of bipolar radiofrequency ablation (b-RFA) with increased (> 70 degrees C) target temperature for the treatment of spine metastases with the intent of achieving pain relief or local tumor control. Materials and methods: Thirty-one patients with a total of 37 metastases who were treated with b-RFA with increased temperature and vertebroplasty from January 2016 to May 2019 were retrospectively included. There were 20 women and 11 men with a mean age of 62.4 10.5 (SD) years (range: 40-78 years). Patients and metastases characteristics, procedure details and clinical outcomes were analyzed. Results: Metastases were predominantly located in lumbar (22/37; 59.5%) or thoracic spine (13/37; 35.1%). Mean target temperature was 88.4 +/- 3.5 (SD) degrees C (range: 70-90 degrees C). Technical success was 100% (37/37 metastases). One (1/37; 2.7%) major complication unrelated to b-RFA was reported. One (1/37; 2.7%) metastasis was lost to follow-up. Favorable outcome was noted in patients receiving bRFA for pain management (16/20 metastases; 80%; mean follow-up, 3.4 +/- 2.9 [SD] months) or with oligometastatic/oligoprogressive disease (6/6 metastases; 100%; mean follow-up, 5.0 +/- 4.6 [SD] months). In patients receiving b-RFA to prevent complications, favorable outcome was noted in 6/10 metastases (60%; mean follow-up, 3.8 +/- 4.8 [SD] months). Conclusions: B-RFA with increased target temperature has an excellent safety profile and results in high rates of pain relief and local metastasis control in patients with oligometastatic/oligoprogressive disease. Suboptimal results are achieved in patients receiving b-RFA to prevent complications related to the growth of the index tumor. (C) 2020 Published by Elsevier Masson SAS on behalf of Societe francaise de radiologie.

Automated summary

The study aimed to investigate the safety and clinical efficacy of bipolar radiofrequency ablation (b-RFA) with increased target temperature for the treatment of spine metastases. The results showed that b-RFA with increased temperature had excellent safety and resulted in high rates of pain relief and metastasis control in patients with oligometastatic/oligoprogressive disease.