Laser treatment shows promise for early Breast Cancer

Using a laser to heat and destroy tumors, called laser ablation, may be an effective way to treat small breast cancers, potentially saving some women from a lumpectomy, new research suggests.
The laser ablation technique used in this study is called Novilase Breast Therapy. It involves placing small probes in the center of the cancer and then using heat from the laser to destroy the tumors.
“It works,” said Dr. Barbara Schwartzberg, a breast cancer surgeon at the Sarah Cannon Research Institute at Rose Medical Center in Denver. Schwartzberg is also the chief medical officer for Novian Health, the company behind Novilase Breast Therapy, and the sponsor of the study.
The researchers behind the new study evaluated 60 women with early stage, small breast cancers that measured up to 2 centimeters in diameter, or about three-quarters of an inch. The women were treated at various sites in the United States and the United Kingdom.
After laser ablation treatment, the tissue that was heated slowly shrinks and forms a scar, according to the Society for Interventional Radiology. The women in the study also had radiation therapy.
Four weeks after the ablation treatment, the treated tissue was removed through surgery. The researchers then examined this tissue to look for remaining cancer cells. The women also had MRIs.
The researchers found that 91 percent of the patients had complete destruction of the cancer when the laser procedure was performed according to technical guidelines. Overall, there was an 84 percent complete tumor destruction rate with the laser treatment, the study found.