Dfine has released study results highlighting the clinical benefits of advanced Targeted-Radiofrequency Ablation(t-RFA) therapy for the management of patients experiencing painful spinal lesions. Eighty-five per cent of patients with metastatic disease will develop spinal metastases—of these nearly 75% will involve the axial skeleton.
The poster, titled “Targeted radiofrequency ablation of spinal metastases: Initial multicenter experience” authored by Nam D Tran, neuro-oncology surgeon at the H Lee Moffitt Cancer Center, Neurosurgery at the University of South Florida College of Medicine, USA, notes that the Star tumour ablation system represents a safe and effective new technique for the treatment of painful malignant spinal metastases. Tran and colleagues from Washington University in St Louis and the University of California San Diego, USA, conducted a retrospective review of 85 patients treated with the Star system, followed by cement augmentation, at three centers over the past 12 months. Spinal metastases involved a wide spectrum of tumour etiology and location extending from T2-S2. Pain relief, as measured by Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), decreased from 7.4 pre-procedure to 2.8 at one month and 1.8 at six months (p <0.001).
“We have found the Star system to be an effective new tool in our efforts to mitigate the progression of neurological complications caused by spinal tumours,” Tran says. “It is a valuable addition to our neurosurgical armamentarium, one that provides significant and rapid pain relief in a minimally invasive procedure, and restores quality of life for these patients before they require more extensive surgery.”
“It is exciting to see how the Star system has been integrated into the neurosurgical suite at Moffitt Cancer Center,” says Kevin Mosher, chief executive officer of Dfine. “The adoption of the Star system at Moffitt, a true multidisciplinary cancer centre, is an exciting milestone for the company and supports our belief that targeted radiofrequency ablation can play a significant role in the treatment of patients with metastatic spinal tumours.”
