Microwave Ablation

Microwave ablation (MWA) is a minimally invasive procedure used in interventional radiology to treat cancer, using electromagnetic waves in the microwave energy spectrum to heat tissue through the oscillation of polar molecules, generating frictional heat that produces necrosis within solid tumors. Because it does not depend on an electrical circuit the way radiofrequency ablation does, multiple applicators can be used simultaneously to destroy larger areas of tissue more quickly. It is used to treat lung tumors in patients who are not surgical candidates or for symptom palliation, liver malignancies including hepatocellular carcinoma with advanced disease, and has also been applied to renal, adrenal and bone malignancies, generally in patients considered nonsurgical candidates.