Abstract:
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Purpose: Cryosurgery has been used in the treatment of tumors of the liver and prostate for more than 20 years. There are only few reports about cryotherapy of breast cancer. The potential and feasibility of cryotherapy in breast cancer was evaluated.
Methods and Materials: 36 female patients (median age 59 years; range 38-81 years) with breast cancers (median tumor diameter 15 mm; range 8-37 mm) underwent cryotherapy. 20 patients had tumors which were smaller than 15 mm. After local anaesthesia a 3 mm cryoprobe was placed into the tumor under ultrasound guidance. Two freeze/thaw cycles with a duration between 7 and 10 minutes, and 5 minutes, respectively, were performed. The size of the iceballs was measured sonographically in one-minute intervals. The patients underwent surgery within 9 days and the specimens were evaluated histologically.
Results: During cryosurgery iceballs could be well delineated using ultrasound. The mean diameter of the iceball was 29 ± 3.1 mm after the second freeze cycle. No severe side effects were observed. In all 20 patients with tumors of smaller than 16 mm histological evaluation of the specimens removed by open surgery did not reveal remnant invasive tissue. 4 of these had ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) in the surrounding tissue.In 16 patients cryotherapy of tumors reaching diameters of more than 15 mm resulted in incomplete necrosis.
Conclusion: Tumors of less than 16 mm diameter are completely destroyed by cryotherapy with a 20% risk of leaving DCIS in the surrounding tissue. In tumors of more than 15 mm diameter the technique of cryotherapy must be locally extended.
Questions about this event email: stefan.pfleiderer@med.uin-jena.de
Pfleiderer MD, S,
Ultrasound-guided Cryotherapy of Small Breast Cancers. Radiological Society of North America 2003 Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting, November 30 - December 5, 2003 ,Chicago IL.
http://archive.rsna.org/2003/3106404.html
