Percutaneous cryoablation of mammary fibroadenoma

E.G. Shachinov, P.V. Balakhnin, A.S. Shmelev, V.I. Malkevich, E.M. Bit-Sava, V.V. Egorenkov, V.M. Moiseyenko

St. Petersburg Clinical Research and Practical Center of Specialized Types of Medical Care (Oncologic)

Aim: to study the immediate and short-term results of percutaneous cryoablation (PC) application under ultrasound control in the mammary fibroadenoma (MF).

Patients and Methods: PC was applied to 29 patients with morphologically verified MF over the 2016–2017 period. In all cases, PC was executed on an outpatient basis using a SeedNet Gold cryogenic unit (Galil Medical, USA) with IceSphere^TM cryoprobe of a 17 G (1.5 mm) diameter. The indications for PC consisted of the clearly visible single MF (≤30 mm diameter) presence, characterized by its progression over the last 6 months, as well as the personal desire of the patient.

Results: all PC procedures were technically successful. Moderate pain in the breast was noted only in three cases arrested by taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (10.3%) after the intervention, as well as the appearance of hematomas. During the first year after the procedure, a decrease in the ablation zone was observed in 89.7% of cases (in 26 patients). At the same time, according to ultrasound data, the volume of the ablation zone decreased on average by 28%, 54% and 70% after 3, 6 and 12 months of observation, respectively. In three patients (10.3%), the ablation zone did not tend to decrease in size, however, there were no cases of its increase or MF reoccurrence during the observation period. Only in six patients (20.7%) 12 months after the PC, a residual mass was palpated in the MF corresponding to the ablation zone. General patient comment (about both cosmetic and therapeutic effect) after 3, 6 and 12 months of the PC procedure equale d 93.1% (n=27), 93.1% (n=27) and 89.7% (n=26), respectively.

Conclusion: PC is an effective and safe minimally invasive procedure for MF treatment, accompanied by the high score of general patient comment about the cosmetic and therapeutic intervention results. PC can be considered as the alternative for treating MF with a diameter of ≤30 mm.

Keywords: mammary gland, fibroadenoma, cryoablation, percutaneous cryoablation, mammary fibroadenoma treatment.

For citation: Shachinov E.G., Balakhnin P.V., Shmelev A.S., et al. Percutaneous cryoablation of mammary fibroadenoma. RMJ. 2019;4:76–79.