Society of Interventional Radiology Quality Improvement Standards on Percutaneous Ablation of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer and Metastatic Disease to the Lungs.

Abstract

PURPOSE\nTo provide guidance on quality improvement thresholds for outcomes and complications of image-guided thermal ablation for the treatment of early stage non-small cell lung cancer, recurrent lung cancer, and metastatic disease.\n\n\nMATERIALS AND METHODS\nA multidisciplinary writing group conducted a comprehensive literature search to identify studies on the topic of interest. Data was extracted from relevant studies and thresholds were derived from a calculation of two standard deviations from the weighted mean of each outcome. A modified Delphi technique was used to achieve consensus agreement on the thresholds.\n\n\nRESULTS\nData from 29 studies, including systematic reviews and meta-analysis, retrospective cohort studies, and single-arm trials were extracted for calculation of the thresholds. The expert writing group agreed on thresholds for local control, overall survival and adverse events associated with image-guided thermal ablation.\n\n\nCONCLUSION\nSIR recommends utilizing the indicator thresholds to review and assess the efficacy of ongoing quality improvement programs. When performance falls above or below specific thresholds, consideration of a review of policies and procedures to assess for potential causes, and to implement changes in practices, may be warranted.