Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41911076›Full record

ArticleRespiration; international review of thoracic diseases2026

Shape-Sensing Robotic-Assisted Bronchoscopic Cryoablation for Primary and Metastatic Pulmonary Nodules: Feasibility, Safety, and Early Outcomes.

Liqin Xu, Wenduo Gu, Mitchell Zhao, Grace Lin, Keriann Van Nostrand, Niral M Patel, Bryce Duchman, Brian Daniel Tran, Jorge A Munoz Pineda, Russell Jason Miller and 2 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Respiration; international review of thoracic diseases, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Liqin XuDepartment of Interventional Pulmonology, Bronchoscopy, and Pleural Diseases, Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, UC San Diego Health, La Jolla, California, USA.
Wenduo GuDepartment of Interventional Pulmonology, Bronchoscopy, and Pleural Diseases, Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, UC San Diego Health, La Jolla, California, USA.
Mitchell ZhaoDepartment of Pathology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA.
Grace LinDepartment of Pathology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA.
Keriann Van NostrandDepartment of Interventional Pulmonology, Bronchoscopy, and Pleural Diseases, Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, UC San Diego Health, La Jolla, California, USA.
Niral M PatelDepartment of Interventional Pulmonology, Bronchoscopy, and Pleural Diseases, Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, UC San Diego Health, La Jolla, California, USA.
Bryce DuchmanDepartment of Interventional Pulmonology, Bronchoscopy, and Pleural Diseases, Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, UC San Diego Health, La Jolla, California, USA.
Brian Daniel TranDepartment of Interventional Pulmonology, Bronchoscopy, and Pleural Diseases, Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, UC San Diego Health, La Jolla, California, USA.
Jorge A Munoz PinedaDepartment of Interventional Pulmonology, Bronchoscopy, and Pleural Diseases, Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, UC San Diego Health, La Jolla, California, USA.
Russell Jason MillerDepartment of Interventional Pulmonology, Bronchoscopy, and Pleural Diseases, Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, UC San Diego Health, La Jolla, California, USA.
Felix J F HerthDepartment of Pneumology and Critical Care Medicine, Thoraxklinik University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
George ChengDepartment of Interventional Pulmonology, Bronchoscopy, and Pleural Diseases, Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, UC San Diego Health, La Jolla, California, USA, gcheng@health.ucsd.edu.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionMinimally invasive bronchoscopic interventions are increasingly explored as alternatives to surgery for pulmonary nodules. Clinical evidence on transbronchial cryoablation guided by robotic-assisted bronchoscopy (RAB) and cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) remains limited. This study evaluated the feasibility, safety, and long-term effectiveness of shape-sensing RAB (ssRAB)-guided transbronchial cryoablation for lung nodules, including metastatic lesions.

methodsWe performed a retrospective review of patients who underwent ssRAB-guided transbronchial cryoablation using ERBECRYO-2 cryotherapy system between July 2023 and May 2025 at the University of California, San Diego. Feasibility was defined as successful probe positioning and completion of cryoablation; safety was assessed by procedure-related adverse events within 14 days, and efficacy was defined as radiographic local control during serial follow-up. Histopathologic findings from nodules subsequently resected were recorded.

resultsFourteen patients with 15 nodules (mean age, 70.3 ± 8.6 years; mean nodule size, 11.1 ± 4.9 mm) were included. ssRAB-guided cryoablation was successfully performed in all cases (feasibility 100%). No procedure-related serious adverse events occurred; minor adverse events included throat irritation (21.4%), dyspnea (14.3%), and isolated hemoptysis, pleuritic pain, or pulmonary infection (7.1% each). The median follow-up time after the transbronchial cryoablation is 110 days, with a range, 13-487 days. Local control was achieved in 86.7% of nodules. Eight nodules were resected after a median of 79 days, showing fibrosis and inflammation on pathology. Seven nodules were followed radiographically for a median of 358 days, with 85.7% (6/7) remaining stable. Patients receiving immunotherapy demonstrated a trend toward longer local progression-free survival.

conclusionssRAB transbronchial cryoablation using a CO

Indexed as

Early outcomesFeasibilityPulmonary nodulesSafetyShape-sensing robotic-assisted bronchoscopyTransbronchial cryoablation

Identifiers

PMID41911076
PMCPMC13258246

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.