RFA experiences, indications and clinical outcomes

Early-stage breast cancer is increasingly detected by screening mammography, and we aim to establish radiofrequency ablation therapy (RFA) as a minimally invasive, cost-efficient, and cosmetically acceptable local treatment. Although there were many studies on resection after RFA, none of them provided sufficient evidence to support RFA as a standard therapy for breast cancer.

In our Phase I study, localized tumors with a maximum diameter of 2 cm, preoperatively diagnosed by imaging and histopathology, were treated with RFA. A 90% complete ablation rate was confirmed histopathologically. Our phase II multicenter study of RFA without resection for early breast cancer will evaluate the long-term safety and efficacy of RFA as well as its cosmetic results, which are a perceived advantage of this technique. We started a phase III multicenter study to demonstrate the non-inferiority of RFA compared with standard treatment (breast-conserving surgery) in terms of ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence (IBTR) rate, which is the best index of local control.

To standardize RFA for breast cancer, the results of our multicenter study, Radiofrequency Ablation Therapy for Early Breast Cancer as Local Therapy (the RAFAELO study) that began in 2013, are eagerly awaited.