Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology
Volume 20, Issue 7, Supplement , Pages S377-S390 , July 2009

Image-guided Tumor Ablation: Standardization of Terminology and Reporting Criteria

  • S. Nahum Goldberg, MD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Radiology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts
    • Corresponding Author InformationAddress correspondence to S.N.G.
  • ,
  • Clement J. Grassi, MD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Radiology, Lahey Clinic Medical Center, Burlington, Massachusetts
  • ,
  • John F. Cardella, MD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Radiology, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver, Colorado
  • ,
  • J. William Charboneau, MD

      Affiliations

    • Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota
  • ,
  • Gerald D. Dodd III, MD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Radiology, University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, Texas
  • ,
  • Damian E. Dupuy, MD

      Affiliations

    • Division of Ultrasound, Brown University-Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, Rhode Island
  • ,
  • Debra A. Gervais, MD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Radiology, GI/GU Division, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts
  • ,
  • Alice R. Gillams, MD

      Affiliations

    • The Middlesex Hospital, London, United Kingdom
  • ,
  • Robert A. Kane, MD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Radiology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts
  • ,
  • Fred T. Lee Jr, MD

      Affiliations

    • Clinical Science Center, University of Wisconsin, Madison
  • ,
  • Tito Livraghi, MD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Radiology, Ospedale Civile-Vimercate, Milan, Italy
  • ,
  • John McGahan, MD

      Affiliations

    • U.C. Davis Medical Center, Sacramento, California
  • ,
  • David A. Phillips, MD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Radiology, University of Massachusetts Memorial Health Care, Worcester, Massachusetts
  • ,
  • Hyunchul Rhim, MD

      Affiliations

    • Hanyang University Hospital, Seoul, Korea
  • ,
  • Stuart G. Silverman, MD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts
  • ,
  • Luigi Solbiati, MD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Radiology, General Hospitals of Busto Arsizio, Busto Arsizio, Italy
  • ,
  • Thomas J. Vogl, MD

      Affiliations

    • Institute of Diagnostic/Interventional Radiology, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University Hospital, Frankfurt, Germany
  • ,
  • Bradford J. Wood, MD

      Affiliations

    • Radiology Department, NIH Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
  • ,
  • Suresh Vedantham, MD

      Affiliations

    • Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, WA University School of Medicine, St Louis, Missouri
  • ,
  • David Sacks, MD

      Affiliations

    • The Reading Hospital and Medical Center, Reading, Pennsylvania
  • ,
  • Society of Interventional Radiology Technology Assessment Committee and the International Working Group on Image-guided Tumor Ablation

References 

  1. Goldberg SN, Charboneau JW, Dodd GD, et al. Image-guided tumor ablation: proposal for standardization of terms and reporting criteria. Radiology. 2003;228:335–345
  2. Goldberg SN, Gazelle GS, Mueller PR. Thermal ablation therapy for focal malignancy: a unified approach to underlying principles, techniques, and diagnostic imaging guidance. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2000;174:323–331
  3. Dodd GD, Soulen MC, Kane RA, et al. Minimally invasive treatment of malignant hepatic tumors: at the threshold of a major breakthrough. RadioGraphics. 2000;20:9–27
  4. Gazelle GS, Goldberg SN, Solbiati L, Livraghi T. Tumor ablation with radiofrequency energy. Radiology. 2000;217:633–646
  5. Dupuy DE, Goldberg SN. Image-guided radiofrequency tumor ablation: challenges and opportunities—part II. J Vasc Interv Radiol. 2001;12:1135–1148
  6. Gillams AR. Thermal ablation of liver metastases. Abdom Imaging. 2001;26:361–368
  7. Vierra M. Minimally invasive surgery. Annu Rev Med. 1995;46:147–158
  8. Siperstein A, Garland A, Engle K, et al. Local recurrence after laparoscopic radiofrequency thermal ablation of hepatic tumors. Ann Surg Oncol. 2000;7:106–113
  9. Curley SA, Izzo F, Ellis LM, Nicolas Vauthey J, Vallone P. Radiofrequency ablation of hepatocellular cancer in 110 patients with cirrhosis. Ann Surg. 2000;232:381–391
  10. Camma C, Schepis F, Orlando A, et al. Transarterial chemoembolization for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma: meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Radiology. 2002;224:47–54
  11. Ramsey DE, Kernagis LY, Soulen MC, Geschwind JF. Chemoembolization of hepatocellular arcinoma. J Vasc Interv Radiol. 2002;13(pt 2):S211–S221
  12. Livraghi T, Giorgio A, Marin G, et al. Hepatocellular carcinoma and cirrhosis in 746 patients: long-term results of percutaneous ethanol injection. Radiology. 1995;197:101–108
  13. Shiina S, Tagawa K, Niwa Y, et al. Percutaneous ethanol injection therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma: results in 146 patients. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 1993;160:1023–1028
  14. Ohnishi K, Yoshioka H, Ito S, Fujiwara K. Prospective randomized controlled trial comparing percutaneous acetic acid injection and percutaneous ethanol injection for small hepatocellular carcinoma. Hepatology. 1998;27:67–72
  15. Goldberg SN, Dupuy DE. Image-guided radiofrequency tumor ablation: challenges and opportunities—part I. J Vasc Interv Radiol. 2001;12:1021–1032
  16. McGahan JP, Gu WZ, Brock JM, Tesluk H, Jones CD. Hepatic ablation using bipolar radiofrequency electrocautery. Acad Radiol. 1996;3:418–422
  17. LeVeen RF. Laser hyperthermia and radiofrequency ablation of hepatic lesions. Semin Interv Radiol. 1997;14:313–324
  18. Arata MA, Nisenbaum HL, Clark TW, Soulen MC. Percutaneous radiofrequency ablation of liver tumors with the LeVeen probe: is roll-off predictive of response?. J Vasc Interv Radiol. 2001;12:455–458
  19. Rossi S, Buscarini E, Garbagnati F, et al. Percutaneous treatment of small hepatic tumors by an expandable RF needle electrode. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 1998;170:1015–1022
  20. Buscarini L, Buscarini E, Di Stasi M, Vallisa D, Quaretti P, Rocca A. Percutaneous radiofrequency ablation of small hepatocellular carcinoma: long-term results. Eur Radiol. 2001;11:914–921
  21. Lorentzen T. A cooled needle electrode for radiofrequency tissue ablation: thermodynamic aspects of improved performance compared with conventional needle design. Acad Radiol. 1996;3:556–563
  22. Solbiati L, Livraghi T, Goldberg SN, et al. Percutaneous radio-frequency ablation of hepatic metastases from colorectal cancer: long-term results in 117 patients. Radiology. 2001;221:159–166
  23. Vogl TJ, Mack M, Roggan A, et al. Internally cooled power laser for MR-guided interstitial laser-induced thermotherapy of liver lesions: initial clinical results. Radiology. 1998;209:381–385
  24. Goldberg SN, Solbiati L, Hahn PF, et al. Large-volume tissue ablation with radiofrequency by using a clustered, internally cooled electrode technique: laboratory and clinical experience in liver metastases. Radiology. 1998;209:371–379
  25. Miao Y, Ni Y, Yu J, Zhang H, Baert A, Marchal G. An ex vivo study on radiofrequency tissue ablation: increased lesion size by using an “expandablewet” electrode. Eur Radiol. 2001;11:1841–1847
  26. Kettenbach J, Köstler W, Rücklinger E, et al. Percutaneous saline-enhanced radiofrequency ablation of unresectable liver tumors: initial experience in 26 patients. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2003;180:1537–1545
  27. Goldberg SN, Stein M, Gazelle GS, Sheiman RG, Kruskal JB, Clouse ME. Percutaneous radiofrequency tissue ablation: optimization of pulsed-RF technique to increase coagulation necrosis. J Vasc Interv Radiol. 1999;10:907–916
  28. Goldberg SN, Ahmed M, Gazelle GS, et al. Radio-frequency thermal ablation with NaCl solution injection: effect of electrical conductivity on tissue heating and coagulation—phantom and porcine liver study. Radiology. 2001;219:157–165
  29. Ahmed M, Lobo SM, Weinstein J, et al. Improved coagulation with saline solution pretreatment during radiofrequency tumor ablation in a canine model. J Vasc Interv Radiol. 2002;13:717–724
  30. Vogl TJ, Müller P, Mack M, Straub R, Engelmann K, Neuhaus P. Liver metastases: interventional therapeutic techniques and results, state of the art. Eur Radiol. 1999;9:675–684
  31. Vogl TJ, Eichler K, Straub R, et al. Laser-induced thermotherapy of malignant liver tumors: general principles, equipments, procedure—side effects, complications and results. Eur J Ultra-sound. 2001;13:117–127
  32. Nolsoe CP, Torp-Pedersen S, Burcharth F, et al. Interstitial hyperthermia of colorectal liver metastases with a US-guided Nd-YAG laser with a diffuser tip: a pilot clinical study. Radiology. 1993;187:333–337
  33. Amin Z, Brown S, Lees WR. Liver tumor ablation by interstitial laser photo-coagulation: a review of experimental and clinical studies. Semin Interv Radiol. 1993;10:88–100
  34. Bown SG, Rogowska AZ, Whitelaw DE, et al. Photodynamic therapy for cancer of the pancreas. Gut. 2002;50:549–557
  35. Shibata T, Iimuro Y, Yamamoto Y, et al. Small hepatocellular carcinoma: comparison of radio-frequency ablation and percutaneous microwave coagulation therapy. Radiology. 2002;223:331–337
  36. Seki T, Tamai T, Nakagawa T, et al. Combination therapy with transcatheter arterial chemoembolization and percutaneous microwave coagulation therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma. Cancer. 2000;89:1245–1251
  37. Lu MD, Chen JW, Xie XY, et al. Hepatocellular carcinoma: US-guided percutaneous microwave coagulation therapy. Radiology. 2001;221:167–172
  38. Jolesz FA, Hynynen K. Magnetic resonance image-guided focused ultra-sound surgery. Cancer J. 2002;8(suppl):S100–S112
  39. Deardorff DL, Diederich CJ. Ultra-sound applicators with internal water-cooling for high-powered interstitial thermal therapy. IEEE Trans Biomed Eng. 2000;47:1356–1365
  40. Silverman SG, Tuncali K, Adams DF, et al. MR imaging-guided percutaneous cryotherapy of liver tumors: initial experience. Radiology. 2000;217:657–664
  41. Copper IS. Cryogenic surgery: a new method of destruction or extirpation of benign or malignant tissues. N Engl J Med. 1963;268:743–749
  42. Onik G, Kane R, Steele G, et al. Society of Gastrointestinal Radiologists Roscoe E. Miller Award: monitoring hepatic cryosurgery with sonography. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 1986;147:665–669
  43. Lee FT, Mahvi DM, Chosy SG, et al. Hepatic cryosurgery with intraoperative US guidance. Radiology. 1997;202:624–632
  44. Cozzi PJ, Stewart GJ, Morris DL. Thrombocytopenia after hepatic cryo-therapy for colorectal metastases: correlates with hepatocellular injury. World J Surg. 1994;18:774–777
  45. Rubinsky B, Lee CY, Bastacky J, Onik GM. The process of freezing and the mechanism of damage during hepatic cryosurgery. Cryobiology. 1990;27:85–97
  46. Lu DS, Raman SS, Vodopich DJ, Wang M, Sayre J, Lassman C. Effect of vessel size on creation of hepatic radiofrequency lesions in pigs: assessment of the “heat sink” effect. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2002;178:47–51
  47. Patterson EJ, Scudamore CH, Owen DA, et al. Radiofrequency ablation of porcine liver in vivo: effects of blood flow and treatment time on lesion size. Ann Surg. 1998;227:559–565
  48. Goldberg SN, Hahn PF, Tanabe KK, et al. Percutaneous radiofrequency tissue ablation: does perfusion-mediated tissue cooling limit coagulation necrosis?. J Vasc Interv Radiol. 1998;9:101–111
  49. Lees WR, Gillams AR, Schumillian C, Branda H. Hypotensive anaesthesia improved the effectiveness of radiofrequency ablation in the liver. (abstr) Radiology. 2000;217(P):228
  50. de Baere T, Bessoud B, Dromain C, et al. Percutaneous radiofrequency ablation of hepatic tumors during temporary venous occlusion. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2002;178:53–59
  51. Rossi S, Garbagnati F, Lencioni R, et al. Percutaneous radio-frequency thermal ablation of nonresectable hepatocellular carcinoma after occlusion of tumor blood supply. Radiology. 2000;217:119–126
  52. Lencioni R, Cioni D, Donati F, Bartolozzi C. Combination of interventional therapies in hepatocellular carcinoma. Hepatogastroenterology. 2001;48:8–14
  53. Jolesz FA, Silverman SG. Interventional magnetic resonance therapy. Semin Interv Radiol. 1995;12:20–27
  54. Gazelle GS, Haaga JR. Guided percutaneous biopsy of intraabdominal lesions. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 1989;153:929–935
  55. Silverman SG, Collick BD, Figueira MR, et al. Interactive MR-guided biopsy in an open-configuration MR imaging system. Radiology. 1995;197:175–181
  56. Lewin JS, Petersilge CA, Hatem S, et al. Interactive MR imaging-guided biopsy and aspiration with a modified clinical C-arm system. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 1998;170:1593–1601
  57. Quesson B, de Zwart JA, Moonen CT. Magnetic resonance temperature imaging for guidance of thermotherapy. J Magn Reson Imaging. 2000;12:525–533
  58. Lewin JS, Connell CF, Duerk JL, et al. Interactive MRI-guided radiofrequency interstitial thermal ablation of abdominal tumors: clinical trial for evaluation of safety and feasibility. J Magn Reson Imaging. 1998;8:40–47
  59. Vogl TJ, Müller PK, Hammerrstingl R, et al. Malignant liver tumors treated with MR imaging-guided laser-induced thermotherapy: technique and prospective results. Radiology. 1995;196:257–265
  60. Zientara GP, Saiviroonporn P, Morrison PR, et al. MRI monitoring of laser ablation using optical flow. J Magn Reson Imaging. 1998;8:1306–1318
  61. Goldberg SN, Gazelle GS, Compton CC, Mueller PR, Tanabe KK. Treatment of intrahepatic malignancy with radiofrequency ablation: radiologicpathologic correlation. Cancer. 2000;88:2452–2463
  62. Rendon RA, Kachura JR, Sweet JM, et al. The uncertainty of radio frequency treatment of renal cell carcinoma: findings at immediate and delayed nephrectomy. J Urol. 2002;167:1587–1592
  63. Zervas NT, Kuwayama A. Pathological characteristics of experimental thermal lesions: comparison of induction heating and radiofrequency electrocoagulation. J Neurosurg. 1972;37:418–422
  64. Thomsen S. Pathologic analysis of photothermal and photomechanical effects of laser tissue interactions. Photo-chem Photobiol. 1991;53:825–835
  65. Pavlovich CP, Walther MM, Choyke PL, et al. Percutaneous radio frequency ablation of small renal tumors: initial results. J Urol. 2002;167:10–15
  66. Leyendecker JR, Dodd GD, Halff GA, et al. Sonographically observed echogenic response during intraoperative radiofrequency ablation of cirrhotic livers: pathologic correlation. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2002;178:1147–1151
  67. Goldberg SN, Walovitch RC, Straub JA, Shore MT, Gazelle GS. Radiofrequency-induced coagulation necrosis in rabbits: immediate detection at US with a synthetic microsphere contrast agent. Radiology. 1999;213:438–444
  68. Dodd GD, Frank MS, Aribandi M, Chopra S, Chintapalli KN. Radiofrequency thermal ablation: computer analysis of the size of the thermal injury created by overlapping ablations. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2001;177:777–782
  69. Gervais DA, McGovern FJ, Wood BJ, Goldberg SN, McDougal WS, Mueller PR. Radio-frequency ablation of renal cell carcinoma: early clinical experience. Radiology. 2000;217:665–672
  70. Dupuy DE, Zagoria RJ, Akerley W, Mayo-Smith WW, Kavanagh PV, Safran H. Percutaneous radiofrequency ablation of malignancies in the lung. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2000;174:57–59
  71. de Baere T, Denys A, Wood BH, et al. Radiofrequency liver ablation: experimental comparative study of water-cooled versus expandable systems. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2001;176:187–192
  72. Pereira PL, Schenk M, Truebenbach J, Brieger J, Kroeber S, Schmidt D. Liver injury after radiofrequency ablation under physiological perfusion in a porcine model. (abstr) Radiology. 2002;225(P):638
  73. Dupuy DE, Mayo-Smith WW, Abbott GF, DiPetrillo T. Clinical applications of radio-frequency tumor ablation in the thorax. RadioGraphics. 2002;22(special issue):S259–S269
  74. Gillams AR, Lees WR. Survival after percutaneous, image-guided, thermal ablation of hepatic metastases from colorectal cancer. Dis Colon Rectum. 2000;43:656–661
  75. Callstrom MR, Charboneau JW, Goetz MP, et al. Painful metastases involving bone: feasibility of percutaneous CT- and US-guided radio-frequency ablation. Radiology. 2002;224:87–97
  76. Rosenthal DI, Hornicek FJ, Wolfe MW, Jennings LC, Gephart MC, Mankin HJ. Changes in the management of osteoid osteoma. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 1998;80:815–821
  77. Berber E, Flesher N, Siperstein AE. Laparoscopic radiofrequency ablation of neuroendocrine liver metastases. World J Surg. 2002;26:985–990
  78. Burke DR, Lewis CA, Cardella JF, et al. Quality improvement guidelines for percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography and biliary drainage (Society of Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiology). J Vasc Interv Radiol. 1997;8:677–681
  79. Lewis CA, Allen TE, Burke DR, et al. Quality improvement guidelines for central venous access (The Standards of Practice Committee of the Society of Cardiovascular & Interventional Radiology). J Vasc Interv Radiol. 1997;8:475–479
  80. Vogl TJ, Straub R, Eichler K, Woitaschek D, Mack MG. Malignant liver tumors treated with MR imaging–guided laser-induced thermotherapy: experience with complications in 899 patients (2,520 lesions). Radiology. 2002;225:367–377
  81. Livraghi T, Solbiati L, Meloni MF, Gazelle GS, Halpern EF, Goldberg SN. Treatment of focal liver tumors with percutaneous radio-frequency ablation: complications encountered in a multicenter study. Radiology. 2003;226:441–451
  82. National Cancer Institute. Cancer therapy evaluation program: common toxicity evaluation manual, version 2.0, June 1, 1999. ctep.cancer.gov/reporting/ctc.htmlAccessed December 15, 2004
  83. Napier D, Dodd G, Hubbard L, Chintapalli K, Chopra S, Medina D. Post ablation syndrome following radiofrequency thermal ablation of liver tumors. Presented at the 29th annual meeting of the Society of Gastrointestinal Radiologists, Kauai, Hawaii, March 12, 2000.
  84. Therasse P, Arbuck SG, Eisenhauer EA, et al. New guidelines to evaluate the response to treatment in solid tumors (European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer, National Cancer Institute of the United States, National Cancer Institute of Canada). J Natl Cancer Inst. 2000;92:205–216
  85. Chopra S, Dodd GD, Chintapalli KN, Leyendecker JR, Karahan OI, Rhim H. Tumor recurrence after radiofrequency thermal ablation of hepatic tumors: spectrum of findings on dual-phase contrast-enhanced CT. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2001;177:381–387
  86. Steele G, Bleday R, Mayer RJ, Lindblad A, Petrelli N, Weaver D. A prospective evaluation of hepatic resection for colorectal carcinoma metastases to the liver: gastrointestinal tumor study group protocol 6584. J Clin Oncol. 1991;9:1105–1112
  87. Fong Y, Blumgart LH, Cohen AM. Surgical treatment of colorectal metastases to the liver. CA Cancer J Clin. 1995;45:50–62
  88. Molmenti EP, Marsh JW, Dvorchik I, et al. Hepatobiliary malignancies: primary hepatic malignant neoplasms. Surg Clin North Am. 1999;79:43–57
  89. Goldberg SN, Kamel IR, Kruskal JB, et al. Radiofrequency ablation of hepatic tumors: increased tumor destruction with adjuvant liposomal doxorubicin therapy. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2002;179:93–101
  90. Stangl DK, Berry DA. Meta-analysis in medicine and health policy. New York, NY: Dekker; 2000;
  91. Fisher B. Clinical trials for the evaluation of cancer therapy. Cancer. 1984;54(suppl):2609–2617
  92. Peto R, Pike MC, Armitage P, et al. Design and analysis of randomized clinical trials requiring prolonged observation of each patient. I. Introduction and design Br J Cancer. 1976;34:585–612
  93. Bilchik AJ, Faries M. Radiofrequency ablation of hepatic malignancies: inexpensive and minimally invasive but should it replace resection?. Ann Surg Oncol. 2003;10:1002–1004
  94. Sacks D, Marinelli DL, Martin LG, Spies JB. General principles for evaluation of new interventional technologies and devices. J Vasc Interv Radiol. 2003;14(pt 2):S391–S394
  95. Begg CB, McNeil BJ. Assessment of radiologic tests: control of bias and other design considerations. Radiology. 1988;167:565–569
  96. Armitage P, Berry G. Statistical methods in medical research. Oxford, England: Blackwell Scientific; 1987;
  97. Rothmann M, Li N, Chen G, Chi GY, Temple R, Tsou HH. Design and analysis of non-inferiority mortality trials in oncology. Stat Med. 2003;22:239–264
  98. Grunkemeier GL, Starr A. Alternatives to randomization in surgical studies. J Heart Valve Dis. 1992;1:142–151
  99. Guyatt GH, Feeny DH, Patrick DL. Measuring health-related quality of life. Ann Intern Med. 1993;118:622–629

 This article first appeared in J Vasc Interv Radiol 2005; 16:765–778.© 2005, Radiological Society of North America

PII: S1051-0443(09)00308-X

doi: 10.1016/j.jvir.2009.04.011

Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology
Volume 20, Issue 7, Supplement , Pages S377-S390 , July 2009