OnCo
termsTerm

Cryoablation

aka cryotherapy, cryosurgery, percutaneous cryoablation

Destroying a tumour by freezing it with a needle that reaches minus 40°C or below; the ice ball is visible on CT, so the treated zone can be watched forming.

Used for small renal masses (where it rivals partial nephrectomy in frail patients), bone and soft-tissue metastases for pain, early prostate cancer, breast fibroadenomas and small breast cancers, and lung tumours. Freezing is less painful than heat and preserves collagen scaffolds, and dying frozen cells release intact antigens, which motivates trials pairing cryoablation with checkpoint inhibitors. Larger tumours need multiple probes.

Category
Procedures

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