Radiofrequency ablation therapy in patients with breast cancers two centimeters or less in size

Abstract

Non-surgical ablation is an attractive approach as a local control method for breast cancer. The purpose of this study was to investigate the complications and efficacy of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) therapy for breast cancer. A total of 52 patients with breast cancer were enrolled. The mean tumor size was 1.3 cm (range, 0.5-2.0 cm). Under general anesthesia, RFA was done with a Cool-tip RF system after sentinel node biopsy. All patients received one session of RFA, for a maximum time of 30 minutes for the first 29 patients and 15 minutes for the following 23 patients when so-called 'break', i.e. stopping the delivery of radiofrequency, did not occur. Postoperative cytological evaluation was done 3-4 weeks after operation. Adjuvant therapy consisted of chemo- and/or endocrine-therapy and radiotherapy (50 Gy). The mean time of RFA was 12 minutes (5-25 minutes). One patient (2%) was troubled with a skin burn just above the ablated field. No patient had viable cancer cells on post-operative cytological evaluation. No recurrence developed 15 months on the average after RFA (6-30 months). Cosmesis after RFA was excellent in 43 patients (83%), good in 6 (12%), and fair in 3 (6%). RFA can be safely used for breast cancer and provides good local control and excellent cosmesis to patients with small breast cancers.