131 - Pulmonary Function Following Thermal Ablation of Lung Tumors: A Prospective Study

Monday, April 13, 2026

3:18 PM - 3:27 PM ET

Presenting Author(s)

RT

Ryan W. Trotzky, BA

Clinical Research Coordinator
Department of Radiology, Division of Thoracic Imaging and Intervention, Massachusetts General Hospital, United States

Author/Co-author(s)

JW

Julian A. Westphal

Doctoral Student
Department of Radiology, Division of Thoracic Imaging and Intervention, Massachusetts General Hospital, United States
AA

Alexander W. Alessi, MD

Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Department of Radiology, Division of Thoracic Imaging and Intervention, Massachusetts General Hospital, United States
JM

Jonathan C. Mueller

Doctoral Student
Department of Radiology, Division of Thoracic Imaging and Intervention, Massachusetts General Hospital, United States
DM

David C. Moscho

Doctoral Student
Department of Radiology, Division of Thoracic Imaging and Intervention, Massachusetts General Hospital, United States
PT

Payam Tashkhis Abadi

Doctoral Student
Department of Radiology, Division of Thoracic Imaging and Intervention, Massachusetts General Hospital, United States
EG

Emily I. Gorton, MPH

Clinical Research Project Manager
Department of Radiology, Division of Thoracic Imaging and Intervention, Massachusetts General Hospital, United States
NM

Nathaniel D. Mercaldo, PhD

Biostatistician
Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, United States
Florian J. Fintelmann, MD (he/him/his)

Associate Professor
Massachusetts General Hospital; Harvard Medical School, United States

Purpose: To evaluate changes in pulmonary function in patients who undergo thermal ablation of lung tumors.

Materials and Methods: We enrolled 59 patients (mean age = 66.7 ± 12.8; 50.8% male; 15.3% with interstitial lung disease [ILD]) who underwent standard-of-care thermal ablation (94.9% cryoablation, 5.1% microwave ablation) of one or more lung tumors at an academic center following multidisciplinary evaluation between December 2023 and September 2025. Shortness of breath was assessed using transformed T-scores from the validated PROMIS SF v1.0 Dyspnea Severity questionnaire {1} at baseline (pre-procedure) and at 1 day, 1 week, 1 month, and 3 months post-procedure. Thirty-one of 59 patients (53%) also completed formal pulmonary function testing within 4 months prior to the ablation (baseline) and at 1 month and 3 months post-procedure, with FEV1, FVC, and DLCO measured. Longitudinal trends were quantified using linear mixed-effects regression models, while data dependencies were acknowledged using random intercepts. Interactions between ILD and time were included to evaluate temporal trajectories. Models were summarized by estimated coefficients and 95% confidence intervals.

Results: Self-reported dyspnea T-scores increased in the short term post-procedure, with statistically significant increases observed at 1 day (1 day vs baseline = 1.92, 95% CI [0.27, 3.58]) and 1 week (1 week vs baseline = 2.19, 95% CI [0.55, 3.82]), before returning to baseline at 3 months. Pulmonary function test results for FEV1, FVC, and DLCO (% predicted) slightly increased with time; however, no significant differences were observed relative to baseline. When stratified by ILD diagnosis, the subset of patients with ILD reported higher dyspnea scores at 3 months relative to baseline (3 months vs baseline = 5.17, 95% CI [-0.19, 10.53]), but an increase in FEV1 (3 months vs baseline = 7.64, 95% CI [-7.16, 22.44]), FVC (3 months vs baseline = 12.82, 95% CI [-2.75, 28.39]), and DLCO (3 months vs baseline = 15.45, 95% CI [-5.56, 36.46]).

Conclusion: Pulmonary function remained stable in patients following thermal ablation of lung neoplasms and FEV1, FVC, and DLCO were preserved at 3 months compared to baseline. While shortness of breath during routine activities increased within the first month, patients returned to baseline levels at 3 months post-procedure. This study provides a granular characterization of post-ablation lung function and informs patient counseling.