"A method designed to target freeze and destroy a tumors cellular function seems effective in combating lung tumors a small ongoing study finds.    At least in the shortrun  meaning three months after the procedure  the intervention known as cryoablation appeared to kill all targeted tumors that had spread to the lung from elsewhere preliminary results suggest.    However some patients developed new tumors in that time period the researchers noted.    The study authors cautioned that while the initial findings are encouraging the treatment should not be seen as a cure for this type of metastatic spreading lung disease. Rather they said that for certain patients who may not be eligible for more standard surgical approaches the therapy has potential as an alternative means for offering an improved quality of life for a longer period of time.    Promising is the perfect way to describe our findings said study lead author Dr. David Woodrum an interventional radiologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester Minn. But whether or not this minimally invasive approach would ultimately become a primary method of treatment in the future will depend on the longterm results of this trial which is still under way. At this point I would say that cryoablation has the most applicability as a kind of lastditch treatment for patients who are not good surgical candidates for a variety of reasons.    Woodrum and his colleagues are scheduled to discuss their findings Sunday in New Orleans at the annual meeting of the Society of Interventional Radiology. Funding for their work was provided by Galil Medical a medical device manufacturer based in Arden Hills Minn.    Because this study was presented at a medical meeting the conclusions should be considered preliminary until published in a peerreviewed journal.    The U.S. National Cancer Institute points out that while cryoablation also known as cryosurgery is a wellknown practice researchers are still in the process of assessing its longterm benefits.    The procedure is performed by an interventional radiologist on patients coping with metastasized lung tumors the researchers noted. Using CTimaging equipment the physician inserts a small needlelike instrument directly into the tumor to deliver the freezing power at temperatures as low as minus  degrees Celsius of liquid nitrogen to cancer cells while sparing healthy surrounding tissue.    To date the team behind the new study has used the procedure to tackle a total of  tumors in  American and French patients  men and nine women  whose average age was . Fifteen patients had just one tumor while the rest had two or more. None of the patients was deemed eligible for standard surgical interventions.    The targeted tumors were less than . centimeters about . inches which Woodrum described as being small to medium in size.    The procedure was performed under either general anesthesia or conscious sedation and lasted anywhere from  minutes to nearly three hours. Typically patients were able to return home the following day.    The result Among the  patients seen roughly three months postprocedure tumor control was found to be  percent although six patients were found to have developed new lung tumors in the interim.    Among five patients seen six months after the procedure tumor control continued to be  percent.    The authors noted that side effects were minimal typically involving air or fluid around the lungs after the procedure and in all cases were resolved quickly.    The team concluded that cryoablation appears to be both safe and effective at least in the shortterm. But they acknowledged that more research needs to be done to track the treatments impact over the long haul.    It would be overreaching to say that were curing cancer with this Woodrum said. But this is one of many therapy options that is looking to turn cancer into a chronic fight and to give patients for whom the choices are limited a chance at a good quality of life with minimal treatment complications.    For his part Dr. David Carbone a professor and director of the James Thoracic Center at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center said that the findings regarding cryoablation are not incredibly novel given that the procedure has been around for years.    And I would say that there are multiple different technologies for doing this kind of very localized approach he added. He mentioned stereotactic radiosurgery  which targets the tumor with highpower Xrays  as another way to go.    While Ive done cryoablation myself in the past its not what I typically do Carbone noted. Stereotactic is noninvasive and doesnt require general anesthesia so thats what Id tend to do although certainly what approach is ideal will depend on a particular patients situation and symptoms. But theres no situation in which cryoablation would be the only theoretical option.  More information  For more about cryoablation visit the U.S. National Cancer Institute.  SOURCES David Woodrum M.D. Ph.D. interventional radiologist department of radiology Mayo Clinic Rochester Minn. David Carbone M.D. Ph.D. professor and director James Thoracic Center Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center Columbus Ohio April   presentation Society of Interventional Radiology meeting New Orleans"