The idea of cancer treatment that doesn’t involve invasive surgery and intense chemotherapy sounds like Science Fiction. Fortunately, there’s an approach called cryoablation that’s allowing oncologists to do exactly that. Liverpool Hospital in Sydney, Australia, has unveiled an MRI-guided system that freezes cancerous tumors. This approach may revolutionize cancer treatment worldwide, alleviating long wait times for treatment, and easing patient pain exponentially.
What is Cryoablation?
Cryoablation is also known as cryosurgery, and involves freezing tumors by injecting liquid nitrogen into them. Doctors use the MRI to guide a gas-powered needle precisely into position. That needle then delivers the nitrogen, which sits at -40 Celsius. This treatment transforms the tumor into an “ice ball”, destroying the cancer cells instantly.
It’s an incredible efficient approach on countless levels. First and foremost, since it happens in realtime, doctors can keep maneouvering the needle around to ensure that all the cancerous cells are destroyed. This is far more effective than radiation or surgery, which can miss cells the first time around and then require further invasive procedures.
Secondly, there’s no need to move patients around from the MRI area to the operating room. This reduces stress on the patient, and requires fewer staff members to facilitate.
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How it Works
Some of the cells are destroyed almost instantly, while others die after the treated cells refill rapidly with water after being frozen and then thawed again. Furthermore, small blood vessels in the surrounding area are also destroyed, which significantly lowers the risk of tumor re-growing in the future.
Which Patients Benefit the Most from This Approach?
Many patients are considered unfit for surgery because of their tumors’ locations, or due to age (too young or too old), or pre-existing medical conditions. Those who fit into these parameters can receive cryoblation instead, which is far less invasive and damaging overall.
Furthermore, the recovery time for this type of treatment is only 24 to 48 hours. This is a significant contrast to standard recovery time from traditional surgical procedures, which often require weeks — if not months — of healing time.
This approach generally doesn’t require general anesthesia, which may carry risks for certain patients. Furthermore, since it uses a thin needle instead of open surgery, there is significantly less risk of infection.
MRI-guided cryoablation therapy places Australia as a trailblazer as far as innovative cancer treatment is concerned. Hopefully, this technique will soon be available to patients worldwide, allowing earlier treatment and faster recovery rates overall.