A new medical procedure freezes and removes benign breast tumors without surgery.

The so-called "cryoablation" technique, a procedure in which the tumor is removed through freezing the cells, was developed by the Sanarus Corp. of Pleasanton, Calif. The FDA approved it six months ago as a non-surgical alternative for the elimination of benign breast tumors, which are also called fibroadenomas

The same process has been used to successfully treat prostate and liver cancers in recent years.

Each year more than 1.3 million women in the United States require breast biopsies, according to the American Cancer Society. In 80 percent of those cases, those lumps are found to be benign, or non-cancerous.

Two-thirds of patients opt for the surgical removal of the tumors, which often leads to a painful recovery and scarring, according to Sanarus. The scars are more than a cosmetic concern since they can make future mammograms and breast exams more difficult by obscuring the breast cancer cells.

Quick-Freeze Procedure Acts Fast

Cryoablation is winning support from some of the breast surgeons who have used the technique, which involves only local anesthesia and a sterile bandage

By contrast, open surgery, the most common treatment for benign tumors, usually involves a day in the hospital, general anesthesia, stitches and two to three days of recovery. Cryoablation involves only local anesthesia and a sterile bandage.

With cyroablation, after doctors use ultrasound to pinpoint the location of the tumor, they apply local anesthesia and place a small needle, about the width of a matchstick, into the patient's breast. The system creates very cold temperatures at the tip of the needle, and the benign tumor is quick-frozen at a temperature of minus 170 degrees Centigrade.

The intense cold transforms the tumor into a tiny ice ball, visible through the ultrasound monitor. The intensity of the cold actually kills the cells by causing the cellular membrane to shatter, and the blood source to freeze, shrivel up and die. Over several weeks, the tumor shrinks and ultimately disappears.

No Scar, No Pain

Dr. Seth Stabinsky of Sanarus says the ultrasound and cryoablation make it easy on the patient and the surgeon.

"It gives the surgeons a great sense of comfort, to be able to see what they're doing inside the breast," Stabinsky said. "It's like using a stethoscope to listen to the heart. Now they've got an opportunity to look inside with an ultrasound device while they're doing a procedure."

ABCNEWS' Dr. Nancy Snyderman said there's no real health risk in freezing some of the tumor's surrounding tissue. "Overall the breast is fat tissue anyway and it will take up the area where the tumor was," she said on Good Morning America.

Dr. Rache Simmons, a breast surgeon with the Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York, has been using cryoablation for the past year, with very encouraging results.

"By inserting the probe, freezing the tumor and not making a surgical incision, we've avoided having to have a scar on a young woman's breast," Simmons said.

And the ease of the operation means Foster would do it again. "I would never go back to surgery," she said. "This was so easy and no pain. So, that's the way to go." For Foster, the ease of the operation means she would do it again.

"I would never go back to surgery. "This was so easy and no pain," she said. So, that's the way to go."

Treating Breast Cancer on Horizon?

Simmons said the procedure also has additional potential.

"Actually, we're looking at this very same technique, to be able to treat breast cancer," Simmons said. "We would do the freezing technique on the breast cancer. Then a week to two after the freezing technique, we would remove the tumor to make sure indeed it worked. The preliminary data is very exciting. We really do think that freezing breast cancer is going to be an effective treatment in the future."

As for Foster, freezing her tumor has allowed her to get on with her life, and walk down the aisle on schedule.

Reference Source 104

For more information on how to prevent other diseases, use
PreventDisease.com's "Quick Prevention Resources".