I started my career as a breast radiologist when radical mastectomies (breast removal) were one of the few breast cancer treatments. Thankfully today, we’re on the verge of successfully treating smaller breast cancers without the need for any surgery at all.
FDA-approved cryoablation (a treatment to kill cancer cells using extreme cold) has already been used successfully to treat cancers of the liver, kidney, cervix and benign (non-cancerous) tumors in the breast.As a result of these positive outcomes, a clinical trial was established to test this technique in the treatment of smaller breast cancer tumors. I currently serve as one of two principal investigators leading this trial at the only hospital in New Jersey selected for this groundbreaking research.
CentraState Medical Center is one of eight hospitals nationwide conducting the breast cryoablation trial.The trial in Freehold includes women age 65 and older because patients in this age group often have additional health issues, such as heart or lung disease, that make them higher risk and less appropriate candidates for surgery. After we’ve completed the trial and documented positive patient outcomes, the next phase of clinical research will expand to a wider age group of women.
Trial participants undergo the cryoablation procedure instead of surgery, but they are still eligible for other standard of care traditional treatments, such as radiation therapy or hormone therapy, if we feel it will help improve their outcomes.
Breast cryoablation is a quick and relatively painless outpatient procedure performed under local anesthesia. After the breast tumor is located via ultrasound, an FDA-approved probe is inserted through a tiny incision. Once the probe reaches the cancer, a cryoablation machine is turned on and liquid nitrogen freezes the tissue associated with the cancer.
Keep in mind, the probe is extremely thin, allowing us to precisely release the liquid nitrogen-filled probe in the center of the tumor. This process forms an ice ball that kills the cancer from the inside out.We perform two simultaneous cycles of this freezing process to ensure complete efficacy.The procedure takes about 30 minutes.
There are no unpleasant side effects and significant scarring, and the patient can go home immediately after the procedure. Over the course of several months, the tumor is gradually absorbed by the body’s immune system. Eliminating early stage breast cancers prevents them from growing larger and infiltrating lymph nodes in order to invade other parts of the body. Once this happens, the cancer battle can be much more complex and invasive, often resulting in lower success rates.
As with any clinical trial, long-term patient outcomes will be pivotal to the overall success of this effort. But gauging by the success of cryoablation for the treatment of other types of cancer, the expectations are quite positive. By destroying early-stage breast cancer, without surgery-, we will achieve another significant milestone in the overall effort to save more women’s lives.
The Star and Barry Tobias Women’s Health Center at CentraState Medical Center offers breast health wellness, diagnostic, treatment and counseling services performed by an all-female staff. In addition to mammography, the center also offers stereotactic needle biopsy, breast needle localization and bone densitometry. For more information, call 732-294-2626 or visit centrastate.com/mammogram.
The Statesir Cancer Center at CentraState delivers comprehensive treatment and support services to help patients and families. Patients also have access to ongoing clinical trials, where appropriate.To learn more, call 855-411- CANCER or visit centrastate.com/cancer.
Dr. Kenneth Tomkovich is a board-certified interventional radiologist and internationally recognized expert in breast cancer diagnosis and interventional treatment procedures. He is medical director of Breast Imaging and Interventional Radiology at CentraState Medical Center and a physician at Freehold Radiology. Dr. Tomkovich can be reached by calling 732-294-2946.