ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: We aimed to assess the clinical outcome of computed tomography (CT)‑guided percutaneous microwave ablation (MWA) in patients 75 years of age and older with early stage peripheral nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty‑eight patients, aged ≥75 years, with Stage I and lymph node‑negative IIa peripheral NSCLC underwent CT‑guided percutaneous MWA in our hospital between July 2007 and March 2015. The overall 1‑, 2‑, 3‑, and 4‑year survival rates were estimated using Kaplan–Meier analysis. Adverse events were recorded. RESULTS: The median follow‑up time was 22.5 months. The overall median survival time (MST) was 35 months (95% confidence interval [CI] 22.3–47.7 months), and the cancer‑specific MST was 41.9 months (95% CI 38.8–49.9 months). The 1‑, 2‑, 3‑, and 4‑year overall survival rates were 91.7%, 76.5%, 47.9%, and 47.9%, while the cancer‑specific survival rates were 94.7%, 73.9%, 64.7%, and 64.7%, respectively. Median time to local progression was 28.0 months (95% CI 17.7–38.3 months). Major complications were included pneumothorax (21.4%, requiring drainage), pleural effusions (3.6%, requiring drainage), and pulmonary infection (3.6%). CONCLUSIONS: CT‑guided percutaneous MWA is safe and effective for the treatment of patients 75 years of age and older with medically inoperable early stage peripheral NSCLC.