Cryoablation in breast tumours

Cryoablation is a percutaneous thermal ablation technique developed to destroy focal groups of cells using extreme cold. It is an outpatient and image-guided procedure, performed under local anaesthesia, with typically short recovery times and good outcomes. Percutaneous cryoablation has good success rates for treating breast fibroadenomas. It is used in cases of malignant tumours mainly when a patient refuses surgery or is not considered to be a suitable candidate. Some studies indicate that cryoablation could be as effective and safe as lumpectomy in cases of low-risk early-stage breast cancer. Moreover, some studies have reported a regression of metastatic foci after ablation of a primary tumour thanks to an anti-tumour immune response stimulated by cryoablation. This article describes the technique and its indications with regards to breast tumours according to the existing literature.