Artificial pneumothorax in CT-guided radioactive iodine-125 seed implantation in the treatment of mediastinal tumors

R.-H. Ni, Z.-M. Zhang, Z.-Z. Yang, J.-G. Ma, N. Hu, W. Hu, H. Huang, G. Wang

Cancer Center, Institute of Surgical Research, Daping Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China. wangge70@hotmail.com

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• Oncology

OBJECTIVE: To explore the efficacy and safety of CT-guided radioactive Iodine-125 seed implantation in treating mediastinal tumors in the thorax with artificial pneumothorax.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: Artificial pneumothorax was created using the 22G thoracic puncture needle in 36 patients with mediastinal tumors, followed by CT-guided radioactive Iodine-125 seed implantation. An equal volume of gas was extracted after the treatment.

RESULTS: The treatment was completed in 35 patients. The tumor target volumes for the radiation treatment were not significantly different before and after the artificial pneumothorax (p = 0.265). No severe complications such as refractory pneumothorax, hemoptysis, or diffuse hemorrhage in the implantation area was observed.

CONCLUSIONS: Artificial pneumothorax can reduce the CT image interference caused by the needle tract bleeding during the radioactive Iodine-125 implantation.

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