RATIONALE: Radiofrequency ablation uses high-frequency electric current to kill tumor cells. CT-guided radiofrequency ablation may be effective treatment for lung cancer.

PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of radiofrequency ablation in treating patients who have refractory or advanced lung cancer.

Condition	Treatment or Intervention	Phase
lung metastases malignant mesothelioma Non-small cell lung cancer pulmonary carcinoid tumor Small Cell Lung Cancer thymoma and thymic carcinoma	Procedure: hyperthermia  Procedure: radiofrequency ablation	Phase II

Further Study Details: 

OBJECTIVES:

• Determine the safety and toxicity of radiofrequency ablation in patients with refractory or advanced pulmonary malignancies.
• Determine the efficacy of this treatment, in terms of local control, in these patients.
• Determine whether CT scan is a reasonable imaging assessment tool for treatment delivery and follow-up in these patients.

OUTLINE: Patients undergo percutaneous CT-guided radiofrequency ablation directly to the tumor over 2 hours.

Patients are followed at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months.

PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 30 patients will be accrued for this study.

Genders Eligible for Study:  Both

Criteria

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Diagnosis of a primary or secondary intrathoracic malignancy
• Any cell type or origin
• Involving the intrapulmonary, mediastinal, or pleural/chest wall
• Inoperable primary or metastatic cancer to the lung
• Refractory to or not amenable to conventional therapy (e.g., surgery, chemotherapy, or radiotherapy)
• Single or multiple lesions that are non-contiguous with vital structures or organs such as:
• Trachea
• Heart
• Aorta
• Great vessels
• Esophagus
• Less than 5 cm in largest dimension
• Accessible via percutaneous transthoracic route

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS: Age:

• Not specified

Performance status:

• Not specified

Life expectancy:

• Not specified

Hematopoietic:

• Not specified

Hepatic:

• Coagulation profile normal

Renal:

• Not specified

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

• See Disease Characteristics

California
      Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, UCLA, Los Angeles,  California,  90095-1781,  United States

Study chairs or principal investigators

Robert D. Suh, MD,  Study Chair,  Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center   

Study ID Numbers:  CDR0000068889; UCLA-9908024; NCI-G01-2011
Record last reviewed:  January 2004
Last Updated:  October 13, 2004
Record first received:  September 13, 2001
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:  NCT00024076
Health Authority: Unspecified
ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on 2005-04-08