Laser Ablation may be an effective treatment for small breast cancers. Using a laser to heat and destroy tumors could save some women from lumpectomy.
The laser technique used in the study, called Novilase Breast Therapy, works by placing small probes in the center of the cancer.
"We learned more from this research study than we anticipated, so I'm very pleased with the results. We saw multiple advantages of using laser therapy to not only destroy the cancer tumor, but to do so with only local anesthetic and less cosmetic damage than traditional lumpectomy," Barbara Schwartzberg, M.D. of Rose Medical Center, said in a report by MedCity News.
"Patients benefit from quicker recovery and are less likely to need additional treatments than with surgery," she added.
A laser treatment has still less consequences than lumpectomy even when retreatment is needed.
"A retreatment with the laser is still a minimally invasive procedure that causes no substantial change to the look and feel of the breast and otherwise poses few risks for the patient. By comparison when a second surgery is needed, the situation is completely different," Schwartzberg said.
"You're probably worsening the cosmetic impact already caused by the first operation. Plus you're re-exposing patients to the other risks and stresses of surgery," she continued.
The laser treatment for breast cancer achieved 91 per cent complete tumor ablation without side effects among 61 patients according to Fierce Medical Devices. MRI demonstrated that the therapy was successful.
Novian Health, developer of this promising technique, carried out the study at 11 sites - eight in the United States and three in the United Kingdom. Radiologists and breasts surgeons acted as investigators of the 64 tumors.
"The radiology aspects of the trial were very encouraging," John Lewin, M.D., Rose Medical Center radiologist, said in a report by AZO Optics.
The researchers behind the laser ablation treatment for breast cancer are attempting to gain FDA approval.
