title: Single-Centre Experience with Percutaneous Cryoablation of Breast Cancer in 23 Consecutive Non-surgical Patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To present our single-centre prospective experience on the use of cryoablation (CA) applied to treat primary breast cancer (BC) in a cohort of patients unsuitable for surgical treatment.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-three consecutive post-menopausal female patients (median age 85 years; range 56-96) underwent percutaneous CA of unifocal, biopsy-proven BC, under ultrasound/computed tomography (US/CT) guidance. Clinical and dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) follow-ups were systematically scheduled at 3, 12, 18 and 24 months. Local tumour control was assessed by comparing baseline and follow-up DCE-MRI.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty-three BC (median size 14 mm) were treated under local anaesthesia (78.3 %) or local anaesthesia and conscious sedation (21.7 %). Median number of cryo-probes applied per session was 2.0. A "dual-freezing" protocol was applied for the first ten patients and a more aggressive "triple-freezing" protocol for the remaining 13. Median follow-up was 14.6 months. Five patients recurred during follow-up and two were successfully re-treated with CA. Five patients presented immediate CA-related complications: four hematomas evolved uneventfully at 3-month follow-up and one skin burn resulted in skin inflammation and skin retraction at 3 and 12 months, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Percutaneous CA is safe and well tolerated for non-resected elderly BC patients. Procedures can be proposed under local anaesthesia only. Given the insulation properties of the breast gland, aggressive CA protocols are required. Prospective studies are needed to better understand the potential role of CA in the local treatment of early BC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Imaging, Institut Bergonié, Comprehensive Cancer Centre, 229 cours de l'Argonne, 33000, Bordeaux, France. r.cazzato@unicampus.it.|Department of Medical Imaging and Interventional Radiology, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, 21 via Álvaro del Portillo, Rome, Italy. r.cazzato@unicampus.it.
authors.forename: Roberto Luigi
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Cazzato
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Institut Bergonié, Comprehensive Cancer Centre, 229 cours de l'Argonne, 33000, Bordeaux, France. c.tunondelara@bordeaux.unicancer.fr.
authors.forename: Christine Tunon
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: de Lara
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Imaging, Institut Bergonié, Comprehensive Cancer Centre, 229 cours de l'Argonne, 33000, Bordeaux, France. x.buy@bordeaux.unicancer.fr.
authors.forename: Xavier
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Buy
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Imaging, Institut Bergonié, Comprehensive Cancer Centre, 229 cours de l'Argonne, 33000, Bordeaux, France. s.ferron@bordeaux.unicancer.fr.
authors.forename: Stéphane
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ferron
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Imaging, Institut Bergonié, Comprehensive Cancer Centre, 229 cours de l'Argonne, 33000, Bordeaux, France. g.hurtevent@bordeaux.unicancer.fr.
authors.forename: Gabrielle
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hurtevent
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Institut Bergonié, Comprehensive Cancer Centre, 229 cours de l'Argonne, 33000, Bordeaux, France. m.fournier@bordeaux.unicancer.fr.
authors.forename: Marion
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fournier
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Institut Bergonié, Comprehensive Cancer Centre, 229 cours de l'Argonne, 33000, Bordeaux, France. m.debled@bordeaux.unicancer.fr.
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Debled
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Imaging, Institut Bergonié, Comprehensive Cancer Centre, 229 cours de l'Argonne, 33000, Bordeaux, France. j.palussiere@bordeaux.unicancer.fr.
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Palussière
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001940:Breast / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D003287:Contrast Media; D003452:Cryosurgery; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D015641:Radiography, Interventional; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D018084:Ultrasonography, Interventional
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media
keywords: Breast cancer; Cryoablation; Percutaneous ablation