Cryoablation for Breast Cancer: An Online Course for the Ultrasound-Experienced Surgeon

Cryoablation for Breast Cancer

An Online Course for the Ultrasound-Experienced Surgeon

This course is designed for the physician with ultrasound skills who is interested in expanding this knowledge into the field of breast cryoablation and establishing a cryoablation program for early stage breast cancer. All participants should be competent in breast ultrasound and ideally have attended an ASBrS didactic and hands-on or equivalent breast ultrasound course.

A natural evolution of cryoablation for benign breast lesions has been to suggest that we can identify a subset of patients with low-risk, early-stage breast cancer who could avoid surgical intervention altogether by undergoing cryoablation. Due to better understanding of tumor cryoablation, technological innovations of cryo-systems, and precise patient selection, cryoablation currently is considered a safe, effective, and adaptable technique. Cryoablation is particularly appealing in older patients because it can be performed in an office setting using local anesthesia, with better patient tolerance, improved cosmesis, and potential cost savings.

This course consists of pre-recorded lectures describing skills for accurate probe placement and freeze / thaw tissue physiology for tumor kill of benign and malignant breast lesions. In addition, we discuss the importance of proper patient selection, how the procedure is performed, and post cryoablation expectations. Current data on cryoablation for benign and malignant disease as well as ICE3 results, and FDA recommendations will be addressed. The faculty will share their personal experiences of utilizing cryoablation within surgical practice. Attendees are also encouraged to review the ASBrS Consensus Guideline on the Use of Transcutaneous and Percutaneous Ablation for the Treatment of Benign and Malignant Tumors of the Breast.