Percutaneous cryoablation in the management of spinal metastases: a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Minimally invasive techniques such as vertebroplasty, kyphoplasty, radiofrequency ablation, and stereotactic body radiotherapy have been widely used to manage spinal metastases. Among these, percutaneous cryoablation (PCA) has emerged as a promising option for local tumor control and pain management, offering targeted treatment with minimal damage to surrounding tissues. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of PCA for spinal metastases.

METHODS

A systematic review was conducted using PubMed and Embase databases to identify studies that reported outcomes of PCA for spinal metastases. The reported radiologic, clinical, and complication outcomes were then combined and analyzed using meta-analytic methods including the calculation of pooled means and proportions, subgroup analysis, and meta-regression.

RESULTS

Eleven studies, including 229 patients, met inclusion criteria and were analyzed. Patients had a mean age of 61.8 years, with 60.6% being female. Breast (18.6%), lung (16.0%), and thyroid (8.0%) were the most common primary cancer sites. PCA was primarily conducted under general anesthesia (47.5%) and with CT/MRI guidance (93.9%). Local tumor control was achieved in 70.5% of cases over a mean follow-up of 12.6 months. Pain severity significantly decreased postoperatively, with a mean reduction of 4.5 points (P < 0.0001). Major and minor complication rates were 2.0% and 4.8%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

PCA is an effective alternative treatment for spinal metastases, offering pain relief and local tumor control with low complication rates in appropriately selected patients. However, tumor location and patient age may influence treatment outcomes, underscoring the need for individualized treatment planning.

Percutaneous Ablation versus Radiotherapy for Pain Related to Bone and Soft Tissue Malignancies: A Multipayor Database Analysis of Outcomes

PURPOSE

To compare key hospitalization outcomes and cost between percutaneous ablation and external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) among patients admitted with acute cancer-related pain.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The Merative MarketScan Research Database was queried for all cancer-related hospitalizations from 2009 to 2022 for patients who underwent percutaneous palliative ablation or EBRT for painful bone or soft tissue tumors. Hospital length of stay (LOS), 30-day readmission rate, in-hospital mortality, and total hospitalization costs from the payor perspective were compared using multivariable generalized linear models controlling for patient demographics, comorbid conditions, geographic location, and calendar year. Sensitivity analyses were conducted using different model specifications and coarsened exact matching.

RESULTS

Among 19,793 hospitalizations, patients underwent ablation in 185 (0.9%) cases and EBRT in 19,608 (99.1%) cases. Compared with EBRT, ablation was associated with shorter LOS (-2.0 days; 95% CI, -3.9 to -0.03; P = .046), lower risk of in-hospital mortality (-3.4 percentage points [p.p.]; 95% CI, -5.6 to -1.3; P = .002), lower risk of 30-day readmission (-7.4 p.p.; 95% CI, -13.7 to -1.2; P = .019), and no statistically significant difference in total hospitalization costs ($8,379; 95% CI, -1,947 to 18,706; P = .11).

CONCLUSIONS

Less than 1% of patients hospitalized with acute cancer-related pain and treated with tumor-directed therapy (either via radiation oncology or interventional radiology) underwent percutaneous tumor ablation. Compared with EBRT, percutaneous ablation was associated with shorter LOS, lower risk of in-hospital mortality, and lower risk of 30-day readmission.

Image-guided cryoablation for palliation of painful bone metastases: a systematic review and meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE

To assess the efficacy of cryoablation in controlling pain from metastatic bone lesions.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A systematic search of PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Cochrane library, and Web of Science was conducted from inception to April 2024, focusing on cryoablation for palliation of painful bone metastases. The inclusion criteria were as follows: studies involving patients over 18 years of age who were affected by bone metastases; bone metastases treated with stand-alone cryoablation; studies reporting patients' pain levels before and at least at one time point after cryoablation; and studies published in English.

RESULTS

A total of 844 articles were initially screened, resulting in 12 articles involving 309 patients included. Pain assessments were conducted at various time points ranging from 1 day to 6 months after the cryoablation procedure. Included studies reported significant improvements in pain scores based on the visual analog scale (VAS), the numeric rating scale (NRS) and brief pain inventory-short form (BPI-SF) following treatment at 1, 4, 8 and 12 weeks. The most notable mean difference between pre- and post-procedure pain scores was observed at 12 weeks, with a standardized mean difference of -3.71 (95% confidence interval [CI]: -5.29 to -2.00; p < 0.001). Regarding pain relief outcomes, by the fourth week, the proportion of patients experiencing pain relief was 0.69 (95% CI: 0.62 to 0.75; p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Cryoablation could be an effective method for palliation of painful bone metastases. Further studies are needed to compare its efficacy with other palliative methods and to define its role in cancer management.

Management of metastatic bone disease of the pelvis: current concepts

PURPOSE

Metastatic disease of the pelvis is frequently associated with severe pain and impaired ambulatory function. Depending on the patient's characteristics, primary tumor, and metastatic pelvic disease, the treatment choice may be varied. This study aims to report on the current management options of metastatic pelvic disease.

METHODS

We comprehensively researched multiple databases and evaluated essential studies about current concepts of managing a metastatic bone disease of the pelvis, focusing on specific indications as well as on the result of treatment.

RESULTS

Pelvic metastases not in the periacetabular region can be managed with modification of weight-bearing, analgesics, bisphosphonates, chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy. Minimally invasive approaches include radiofrequency ablation, cryoablation, embolization, percutaneous osteoplasty, and percutaneous screw placement. Pathological or impending periacetabular fracture, excessive periacetabular bone defect, radioresistant tumor, and persistent debilitating pain despite non-surgical treatment and/or minimally invasive procedures can be managed with different surgical techniques. Overall, treatment can be divided into nonoperative, minimally invasive, and operative based on specific indications, the expectations of the patient and the lesion.

CONCLUSION

Different treatment modalities exist to manage metastatic pelvic bone disease. Decision-making for the most appropriate treatment should be made with a multidisciplinary approach based on a case-by-case basis.

Magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound versus percutaneous thermal ablation in local control of bone oligometastases: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

The percutaneous thermal ablation techniques (pTA) are radiofrequency ablation, cryoablation, and microwave ablation, suitable for the treatment of bone oligometastases. Magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) is a noninvasive ablation technique.

OBJECTIVES

To compare the effectiveness and safety of MRgFUS and pTA for treating bone oligometastases and their complications.

METHODS

Studies were selected with a PICO/PRISMA protocol: pTA or MRgFUS in patients with bone oligometastases; non-exclusive curative treatment. Exclusion criteria were: primary bone tumor; concurrent radiation therapy; palliative therapy; and absence of imaging at follow-up. PubMed, BioMed Central, and Scopus were searched. The modified Newcastle-Ottawa Scale assessed articles quality. For each treatment (pTA and MRgFUS), we conducted two separate random-effects meta-analyses to estimate the pooled effectiveness and safety. The effectiveness was assessed by combining the proportions of treated lesions achieving local tumor control (LTC); the safety by combining the complications rates of treated patients. Meta-regression analyses were performed to identify any outcome predictor.

RESULTS

A total of 24 articles were included. Pooled LTC rate for MRgFUS was 84% (N = 7, 95% CI 66-97%, I2 = 74.7%) compared to 65% of pTA (N = 17, 95% CI 51-78%, I2 = 89.3%). Pooled complications rate was similar, respectively, 13% (95% CI 1-32%, I2 = 81.0%) for MRgFUS and 12% (95% CI 8-18%, I2 = 39.9%) for pTA, but major complications were recorded with pTA only. The meta-regression analyses, including technique type, study design, tumor, and follow-up, found no significant predictors.

DISCUSSION

The effectiveness and safety of the two techniques were found comparable, even though MRgFUS is a noninvasive treatment that did not cause any major complication. Limited data availability on MRgFUS and the lack of direct comparisons with pTA may affect these findings.

CONCLUSIONS

MRgFUS can be a valid, safe, and noninvasive treatment for bone oligometastases. Direct comparison studies are needed to confirm its promising benefits.

Cryoablation for the Palliation of Painful Bone Metastasis: A Systematic Review

BACKGROUND

Cryoablation is a minimally invasive procedure to treat painful bone metastases in patients with cancer. We designed a systematic review to understand the safety and effects of cryoablation on the pain and quality of life (QoL) of cancer patients.

METHOD

We searched PubMed, ISI, Cochrane library, and Scopus databases using the keywords "Cryoablation," "Pain," and "Bone metastasis." Inclusion criteria were: (1) Original studies published until September 8, 2022; (2) studies on patients over 18 years and affected by bone metastasis; (3) bone metastasis treated with stand-alone cryoablation; (4) studies reporting patients' pain before and at least one time-point following cryoablation; and (5) English-language studies.

RESULTS

We screened 696 articles. Fifteen studies on 376 patients were included. Time points for pain assessment ranged from 1 day to 6 months. Spine was the most frequent treated location. All studies reported a significant pain reduction between 1 day and 6 months after the cryoablation procedure. The highest mean difference between pre- and post-procedure scores was 5.8 (VAS scale) after 4 weeks. The overall rate of minor and major complications was 12.74%. Cryoablation improved the QoL of cancer patients and decreased the need for analgesics.

CONCLUSION

Cryoablation is a safe and useful procedure for palliating painful bone metastasis and increasing the QoL of cancer patients. Future studies should adopt a standardized pain reporting scale to allow for meta-analysis.

The New Ice Age of Musculoskeletal Intervention: Role of Percutaneous Cryoablation in Bone and Soft Tissue Tumors

In the rapidly evolving field of interventional oncology, minimally invasive methods, including CT-guided cryoablation, play an increasingly important role in tumor treatment, notably in bone and soft tissue cancers. Cryoablation works using compressed gas-filled probes to freeze tumor cells to temperatures below -20 °C, exploiting the Joule-Thompson effect. This cooling causes cell destruction by forming intracellular ice crystals and disrupting blood flow through endothelial cell damage, leading to local ischemia and devascularization. Coupling this with CT technology enables precise tumor targeting, preserving healthy surrounding tissues and decreasing postoperative complications. This review reports the most important literature on CT-guided cryoablation's application in musculoskeletal oncology, including sarcoma, bone metastases, and bone and soft tissue benign primary tumors, reporting on the success rate, recurrence rate, complications, and technical aspects to maximize success for cryoablation in the musculoskeletal system.

Minimally Invasive Interventional Procedures for Metastatic Bone Disease: A Comprehensive Review

Metastases are the main type of malignancy involving bone, which is the third most frequent site of metastatic carcinoma, after lung and liver. Skeletal-related events such as intractable pain, spinal cord compression, and pathologic fractures pose a serious burden on patients’ quality of life. For this reason, mini-invasive treatments for the management of bone metastases were developed with the goal of pain relief and functional status improvement. These techniques include embolization, thermal ablation, electrochemotherapy, cementoplasty, and MRI-guided high-intensity focused ultrasound. In order to achieve durable pain palliation and disease control, mini-invasive procedures are combined with chemotherapy, radiation therapy, surgery, or analgesics. The purpose of this review is to summarize the recently published literature regarding interventional radiology procedures in the treatment of cancer patients with bone metastases, focusing on the efficacy, complications, local disease control and recurrence rate.

Interventional Radiology in the Management of Metastases and Bone Tumors

Interventional Radiology (IR) has experienced an exponential growth in recent years. Technological advances of the last decades have made it possible to use new treatments on a larger scale, with good results in terms of safety and effectiveness. In musculoskeletal field, painful bone metastases are the most common target of IR palliative treatments; however, in selected cases of bone metastases, IR may play a curative role, also in combination with other techniques (surgery, radiation and oncology therapies, etc.). Primary malignant bone tumors are extremely rare compared with secondary bone lesions: osteosarcoma, Ewing sarcoma, and chondrosarcoma are the most common; however, the role of interventional radiology in this fiels is marginal. In this review, the main techniques used in interventional radiology were examined, and advantages and limitations illustrated. Techniques of ablation (Radiofrequency, Microwaves, Cryoablation as also magnetic resonance imaging-guided high-intensity focused ultrasound), embolization, and Cementoplasty will be described. The techniques of ablation work by destruction of pathological tissue by thermal energy (by an increase of temperature up to 90 °C with the exception of the Cryoablation that works by freezing the tissue up to -40 °C). Embolization creates an ischemic necrosis by the occlusion of the arterial vessels that feed the tumor. Finally, cementoplasty has the aim of strengthening bone segment weakened by the growth of pathological tissue through the injection of cement. The results of the treatments performed so far were also assessed and presented focused the attention on the management of bone metastasis.

Preoperative cryoablation of a hypervascular bone metastasis: A case of effective devascularization before preoperative embolization

Image-guided cryoablation has become a common approach for the palliative treatment of painful metastatic bone lesions, and indications for this procedure have expanded to include local control of bone metastases. We report a case in which cryoablation was performed on a large hypervascular renal cell carcinoma bone metastasis before surgical fixation of an impending fracture. In this case, cryoablation reduced the patient's pain but also appeared to result in devascularization of the tumor, thus obviating the need for preoperative embolization. This case raises the possibility that image-guided cryoablation may represent an alternative to preoperative embolization for vascular tumors while also serving a palliative function.

Bone Metastases: Mechanisms of the Metastatic Process, Imaging and Therapy

The mechanisms by which tumors metastasize to bone are complex. Upon the successful establishment of metastatic deposits in the skeleton, detection of the disease becomes essential for therapeutic planning. The roles of CT, skeletal scintigraphy, SPECT/CT, MRI, PET/CT and PET/MRI will be reviewed. Therapeutic response criteria specifically designed to evaluate bone metastases (MD Anderson/MDA criteria) can guide image interpretation. Knowledge of therapeutic strategies such as systemic therapy with bisphosphonates or radiopharmaceuticals, radiation therapy, surgery, and percutaneous interventions such as vertebroplasty and radiofrequency ablation can help the radiologist produce reports that will provide maximum benefit to clinicians and patients.

Retrospective analysis of CT-guided percutaneous cryoablation for treatment of painful osteolytic bone metastasis

This study aimed to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of CT-guided percutaneous cryoablation for treatment of painful osteolytic bone metastases. A total of 26 patients (36 bone metastases) treated with CT-guided percutaneous cryoablation between May 2012 and June 2016 were enrolled in this retrospective study. All procedures were performed under local anesthesia. A visual analog scale (VAS) was used to evaluate pain before the procedure and at 1 day, 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months after the procedure. Complications during and after the procedure were recorded and graded by the Clavien-Dindo classification. The mean VAS pain score was 7.1 ± 1.1 (range, 4-10) before cryoablation. It was significantly lower at all timepoints after treatment: 2.1 ± 1.7 (P < 0.0001) at 1 day after treatment, 1.3 ± 1.8 (P < 0.0001) at 1 month, 1.6 ± 1.7 (P < 0.0001) at 3 months, and 1.8 ± 1.3 (P < 0.0001) at 6 months. The response rates were 91.7%, 94.4%, 91.7%, and 94.4%, respectively, at 1 day, 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months after cryoablation; the complete response rates were 22.2%, 41.7%, 36.1%, and 22.2%, respectively. Adverse events (skin frostbite, nerve injury, pathologic fracture) occurred in 3 patients. CT-guided percutaneous cryoablation under local anesthesia appears to be a safe and effective treatment for painful osteolytic bone metastases. Prospective clinical trials on large samples needed to confirm this conclusion.

Management of metastatic vertebral lesions by interventional techniques: Systematic review of outcomes

Vertebral metastases represent an important cause of cancer-related morbidity and mortality. Among all available treatments, interventional percutaneous techniques have recently emerged as potential strategies for the management of oncologic patients with vertebral lesions. Minimally invasive image-guided therapies include “ablative” and “consolidative” ones. According to the number of metastases and the patient's performance status, ablative techniques can be performed with a curative or a palliative purpose since necrosis induced by critic changes of intralesional temperature determines both tumor debulking and destruction of pain receptors. On the other hand, consolidative treatments are based on the injection of polymethylmethacrylate cement to improve structural vertebral integrity and obtain pain alleviation and prevention of skeletal-related events. This article reviews the current recommendations supporting the role of interventional radiology in the management of vertebral metastases, focusing on the last updates in literature.