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Irreversible Electroporation (IRE) Fails to Demonstrate Efficacy in a Prospective Multicenter Phase II Trial on Lung Malignancies: The ALICE Trial

  • Clinical Investigation
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Abstract

Purpose

To assess safety and efficacy of irreversible electroporation (IRE) of lung malignancies.

Materials and Methods

Patients with primary and secondary lung malignancies and preserved lung function were included in this prospective single arm trial. Primary and secondary endpoints were safety and efficacy. Recruitment goal was 36 subjects in 2 centers. Patients underwent IRE under general anesthesia with probe placement performed in Fluoroscopy-CT. The IRE system employed was NanoKnife® (Angiodynamics). System settings for the ablation procedure followed the manufacturer’s recommendations. The Mann–Whitney U test was used to evaluate the correlation of nine technical parameters with local tumor control. Median follow up was 12 months.

Results

The expected efficacy was not met at interim analysis and the trial was stopped prematurely after inclusion of 23 patients (13/10 between both centers). The dominant tumor entity was colorectal (n = 13). The median tumor diameter was 16 mm (8–27 mm). Pneumothoraces were observed in 11 of 23 patients with chest tubes required in 8 (35 %). Frequently observed alveolar hemorrhage never led to significant hemoptysis. 14/23 showed progressive disease (61 %). Stable disease was found in 1 (4 %), partial remission in 1 (4 %) and complete remission in 7 (30 %) patients. The relative increase of the current during ablation was significantly higher in the group treated successfully as compared to the group presenting local recurrence (p < 0.05). Needle tract seeding was found in three cases (13 %).

Conclusions

IRE is not effective for the treatment of lung malignancies. We hypothesize that the energy deposition with current IRE probes is highly sensitive to air exposure.

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Conflict of interest

Jens Ricke, Julian Jürgens, Frederic Deschamps, Lambros Tselikas, Katja Uhde, Ortrud Kosiek, and Thierry De Baere have no conflict of interest.

Statement of Human and Animal Rights

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Statement of Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, University of Magdeburg, Leipziger Strasse 44, 39120, Magdeburg, Germany

    Jens Ricke, Julian H. W. Jürgens, Katja Uhde & Ortrud Kosiek

  2. Department of Image Guided Therapy, Institut de Cancérologie Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France

    Frederic Deschamps, Lambros Tselikas & Thierry De Baere

Authors
  1. Jens Ricke
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  2. Julian H. W. Jürgens
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Correspondence to Jens Ricke.

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Ricke, J., Jürgens, J.H.W., Deschamps, F. et al. Irreversible Electroporation (IRE) Fails to Demonstrate Efficacy in a Prospective Multicenter Phase II Trial on Lung Malignancies: The ALICE Trial. Cardiovasc Intervent Radiol 38, 401–408 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00270-014-1049-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00270-014-1049-0

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