Update on Image-Guided Percutaneous Ablation of Breast Cancer.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this article is to delineate the potential techniques for percutaneous ablation of breast cancer, discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each technique, and provide results from recent studies on these technologies. The techniques discussed are cryotherapy, laser irradiation, microwave irradiation, radiofrequency ablation, high-intensity focused ultrasound ablation, and irreversible electroporation.

CONCLUSION

Although percutaneous ablation techniques have some promising potential for less-invasive treatment of breast cancer, larger multicenter trials are needed to confirm their efficacy, especially in comparison with the reference standard of lumpectomy. The use of these techniques also leads to other remaining unanswered questions, including how to manage the axilla and which patients are the best candidates for these treatments.