[ot] CRYOABLATION

[Guest guest]

Not applicable to CLL but of interest to those with secondary breast cancer.

BIG BOOST FOR CRYOABLATION

Cryoablation (also called cryosurgery) is a " new " treatment for breast cancer

that has been waiting in the wings for decades. While fairly often used in

prostate cancer, the use of cold probes to destroy breast or other types of

tumors has never been widely accepted. Recently, however, the University of

Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center announced some very exciting results. They

found that quickly freezing a tumor not only kills that tumor but also stops the

spread of the disease. With rapid freezing, there was improved survival compared

to surgery alone.

Researchers compared two cryoablation techniques, both of which involve freezing

a breast tumor with a cold probe. The first method involved freezing the tumor

rapidly, in about 30 seconds. The other involved freezing it more slowly, over a

few minutes. Results of these two methods were then compared with results in

mice whose tumors were simply removed by surgery.

Both cryoablation techniques successful destroyed the primary breast tumor. But

the mice who were treated with the rapid-freezing technique had fewer subsequent

lung metastases and had longer survival compared to mice treated with surgery

alone or mice treated with the slower freezing technique. The authors believe

that rapid freezing triggers an immune response that helps kill the tumor.

" Cryoablation has strong potential as a treatment for breast cancer, " said

Sabel, MD, of the University of Michigan Medical School. " Not only does

it appear effective in treating the primary tumor with little cosmetic concerns,

but it also may stimulate an immune response capable of eradicating any cells

that have traveled throughout the body, reducing both local and distant

recurrence, similar to giving a breast cancer vaccine. "

The Michigan authors are now involved in a clinical trial of rapid-freeze

cryotherapy in human breast cancer patients. For more information about the

study, contact the U-M Cancer AnswerLine at 800-865-1125.

--Ralph W. Moss, Ph.D.

References

Sabel MS, Su G, Griffith KA, Chang AE. Rate of freeze alters the immunologic

response after cryoablation of breast cancer. Ann Surg Oncol. 2009. Available

at:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20033323 [Accessed March 4, 2010].

U of M Press Release:

http://www2.med.umich.edu/prmc/media/newsroom/details.cfm?ID=1501

Blackwood J, FT, Pace WG. Cryotherapy for malignant tumors. Cryobiology.

1967;4:33-8.

Rand RW, Rand RP, Eggerding FA, Field M, Denbesten L, King W, Camici S.

Cryolumpectomy for breast cancer: an experimental study. Cryobiology.

1985;22:307-18.

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