title: Percutaneous thermal ablation in the head and neck: current role and future applications.
abstract: Patients with recurrent head and neck cancer have poor quality of life and suffer dismally from debilitating symptoms. Ablative techniques offer patients an alternative, minimally invasive treatment option. As a palliative treatment, they improve quality of life with decreased pain, improved function and appearance. In addition, there is a reduction in tumor bulk and analgesia requirements. Advantages include a reduction in procedural cost, avoidance of complex repetitive surgeries, and an ability to visualize the treated area at the time of the procedure. Ablation therapies are an evolving and exciting treatment option in the head and neck, but a consensus on appropriate indications is currently unclear.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Division of Interventional Neuroradiology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA. gwysel@jhmi.edu
authors.forename: Gerald
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wyse
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.forename: Kieran
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Murphy
mesh_terms: D004621:Embolization, Therapeutic / Q000639:trends*; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D006979:Hyperthermia, Induced / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends*; D019060:Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures / Q000639:trends*; D015642:Radiology, Interventional / Q000639:trends*; D025321:Surgery, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends*