Irena Jankovic, Jiri Bartek, Margret Jensdottir, Frantz Rom Poulsen, Christian Bonde Pedersen, Bjarne Winther Kristensen, Tine Schytte, Thomas Lund Andersen, Luoise Langhorn, Ole Graumann, Willy Krone & Bo Halle

Ugeskr Læger 2020;182:V12190734

The diagnosis of a malignant brain tumour is often associated with a poor prognosis. Current treatment is surgical resection followed by radio-chemotherapy. Surgical resection is most favourable in relation to survival time. Unfortunately, many patients are not suitable for surgical resection, due to inoperable tumour location or the patients’ poor state. Minimally invasive thermal ablation may pose an interesting new treatment alternative. In this review, we describe the evolution, the underlying physiology and the clinical applications of cryo- and laser-induced thermal therapy of primary and secondary brain tumours.