title: Image and pathological changes after microwave ablation of breast cancer: a pilot study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To prospectively assess MR imaging evaluation of the ablation zone and pathological changes after microwave ablation (MWA) in breast cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twelve enrolled patients, diagnosed with non-operable locally advanced breast cancer (LABC), were treated by MWA and then neoadjuvant chemotherapy, followed by surgery. MR imaging was applied to evaluate the effect of MWA. Hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were applied to analyze the ablated area.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All MWA procedures were performed successfully under local anesthesia. For a mean duration of 2.15 min, the mean largest, middle and smallest diameters in the ablated zone 24-h post-ablation in MR imaging were 2.98 cm ± 0.53, 2.51 cm ± 0.41 and 2.23 cm ± 0.41, respectively. The general shape of the ablation zone was close to a sphere. The ablated area became gradually smaller in MR imaging. No adverse effects related to MWA were noted in all 12 patients during and after MWA. HE staining could confirm the effect about 3 months after MWA, which was confirmed by TEM.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  2 min MWA can cause an ablation zone with three diameters larger than 2 cm in breast cancer, which may be suitable for the local treatment of breast cancer up to 2 cm in largest diameter. However, the long-term effect of MWA in the treatment of small breast cancer should be determined in the future.
authors.affiliation: Department of Breast Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, 300 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing 210029, China.
authors.forename: Wenbin
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, 300 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing 210029, China.
authors.forename: Yanni
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Department of Breast Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, 300 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing 210029, China.
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Breast Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, 300 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing 210029, China.
authors.forename: Lijun
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ling
authors.affiliation: Department of Breast Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, 300 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing 210029, China.
authors.forename: Mengdi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: Department of Breast Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, 300 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing 210029, China.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, 300 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing 210029, China.
authors.forename: Siqi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Breast Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, 300 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing 210029, China.
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.affiliation: Department of Breast Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, 300 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing 210029, China. Electronic address: liuxiaoan@126.com.
authors.forename: Xiaoan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Breast Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, 300 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing 210029, China. Electronic address: ws0801@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Shui
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000772:Anesthesia, Local; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery / Q000628:therapy*; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008872:Microwaves / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008875:Middle Aged; D020360:Neoadjuvant Therapy; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011446:Prospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: Breast cancer; MR imaging; Microwave ablation