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Freezing technique to help cure breast cancer Main Article page | Health page| Disease articles | Links Scientist have reported success in treating breast cancer by freezing tumours and hope that the new therapy could replace surgery in future. With the new technique called multiprobe cryotherapy, researchers were able to freeze breast cancer in patients who refused surgery. These women did not have to undergo surgery after treatment to ensure that tumours had been killed."Minimally invasive cryotherapy opens the door for a potential new treatment for breast cancer and needs to be further tested,"Peter J. Littrup of the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit said. He presented his research findings at the annual meeting of the Society of Interventional Radiology on Tuesday. The "ice-ball" created around a tumour by the jabs not only kills it off but also cuts the recurrence risk, reports The Daily Express. In a technique known as cryotherapy, fine needles are used to inject the freezing gas around the tumour. To reach the conclusion, boffins conducted a trial that was carried out on 13 patients who had all refused to have breast operations to remove their tumours. They remained cancer-free up to five years later when doctors saw no sign of the disease returning and noted no significant complications, experts found. "Minimally invasive cryotherapy opens the door for a potential new treatment for breast cancer and needs to be further tested," he said. "When used for local control and - or - potential cure of breast cancer, it provided safe and effective breast conservation." In this method, cancer cells are destroyed within minutes of the injections and the patient suffers little pain or scarring. The study was presented at the Society of Interventional Radiology's 35th Annual Scientific Meeting in Florida. (ANI) This is the first reported study of successfully freezing breast cancer without having to undergo surgery afterward. The major benefits of cryotherapy technique, according to researchers, are ability to visualise the ice treatment zone during the procedure, low pain profile and good healing with minimal scar. ANI / Yahoo news
Mail Today Science Bureau / Yahoo news |
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