Interventional oncology in breast cancer

Breast cancer (BC) is the most common cancer and one of the most important causes of death in women. Surgery is the standard therapy for breast cancer and in the last decades evolved towards a more conservative approach, with lumpectomy, followed by radiation therapy, the most common option. Unfortunately, up to 40% of women affected by BC will develop metastases and will receive systemic therapy, which improves survival and quality of life. Interventional oncology (IO), thanks to the improvement in technology and clinical experience, is gaining an important role in the field of breast cancer, both in treating the primary tumour and also in metastasis in well-selected cases. Percutaneous thermal ablation and more recently cryoablation are reported to achieve promising results in the radical treatment of small breast cancer, with optimal cosmetic outcome and a very high safety profile. Percutaneous ablation as well as intra-arterial therapies, such as chemoembolization and radioembolization, might also be indicated in metastatic BC patients. In advanced stage disease, breast cancer liver metastases (BCLM) represent the main factor affecting the overall survival. Metastatic breast disease is a systemic disease, with tumour deposits potentially spread into different organs and tissues for which systemic therapy is the standard approach. Local therapies for liver metastases might have an important role in improving survival and quality of life in well-selected patients. Clinical and technical indications with their limitations, results and potential complications in local IO treatment for BCLM, will be also described.