Favorable outcomes of navigated percutaneous ablation and cementoplasty of bone metastasis in the extremities and pelvis-a case series of 13 cases

Objectives Palliative treatment options for bone metastasis are limited, especially in cases where standard protocols have already failed. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of percutaneous ablation, either by cryoablation or radiofrequency, combined with percutaneous cementoplasty using cone-beam guided navigation. The objective was to relieve symptoms and improve functionality in patients suffering from pain secondary to bone metastases, as well as evaluate local disease progression post ablation. Methods We conducted a retrospective study of 13 patients (average age 63.6 ± 9.8, nine females) with symptomatic skeletal metastases treated using 3D imaging with navigation and followed for at least 12 months. The treatment protocol was implemented either after failure of first line treatment, or as first line when mechanical instability was present. Percutaneous lesion ablation was performed along with percutaneous cementation. Results In this study, we observed a statistically significant decrease in pain. The mean Visual Analog Scale pain score decreased from 7.1 ± 0.4 prior to CRA/RFA to 2.2 ± 0.3 after the procedure ( p < 0.001). At the 12-months follow-up, all patients were able to ambulate with no assistance (Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group <2). One minor adverse event (paresthesia) and one major adverse event (drop foot) were resolved at 1 year of follow-up. Conclusions Treatment of bone metastasis with RFA and CRA in conjunction with cementoplasty using Cone-beam computed tomography navigation provides patients with significant palliative outcomes and in most cases, local tumor control.