Safety and efficacy of CT-guided radioactive iodine-125 seed implantation assisted by a 3D printing template for the treatment of thoracic malignancies.

Objective: To ascertain the safety and efficacy of radioactive iodine-125 seed implantation (RISI) for the treatment of thoracic tumors.

Methods: Clinical patients with primary or metastatic tumors in the chest treated with RISI were analyzed. The RISI process included the following stages: preoperative planning, template design and 3D printing, CT-guided RISI assisted by a template, and postoperative dosimetric verification. The prescribed dose was ≥ 80 Gy. The main analytic measures were the local control (LC) rate and toxicity.

Results: From April 2015 to July 2018, a total of 92 patients, including 41 with lung cancer and 51 with lung metastases, were analyzed. The median lesion diameter was 5 cm. The median postoperative D90 was 142.6 Gy. The median follow-up was 10.7 months. The overall survival rates at 1 year and 3 years were 59.7% and 22.2%, respectively. The LC rates at 1 year and 3 years were 64.9% and 32.8%, respectively. The LC rates at 3 years for patients with D90 < 140 Gy and D90 > 140 Gy were 23.1% and 54.3%, respectively (P = 0.014). The LC rate of metastatic lung cancer was more favorable than that of primary lung cancer. The multivariate analyses showed that the dose and lesion type were independent factors for LC (P < 0.05). No factors were related to OS. The incidence of pneumothorax and hemoptysis was 35.8% and 3.2%, respectively. Few cases of radiotherapy-related toxicity effects were observed.

Conclusions: RISI may be safe and efficacious and is associated with few complications during the treatment of thoracic tumors. If patients need local treatment and surgery or radiotherapy is not available, RISI could be considered.