Breast cancer treatment in Delhi using Radio Frequency Ablation.

Mankind is insecure obviously wants less invasion on the human body – therefore the popularization of minimally invasive surgery techniques. Breast Cancer looms large in the horizon as the major killer of women worldwide. 1,20,000 new cases of breast cancer are reported every year and one in eight women shall get this disease in her lifetime. Indian metropolitan cities like Delhi and Mumbai have since shown they are not far behind the west i.e. the commonest cancer in urban Indian women is breast cancer.

Evolution of breast cancer treatment has come one full circle from the days of Wangenstein & Urban who would cut the chest wall (ribcage) and the pericardium (covering of the heart) along with the affected breast in an endeavor to cure the disease. The current practice of conserving the breast by doing Breast Conserving Surgery variously referred to as lumpectomy, wide excision, segmental resection is scientifically proven to offer the same chance of cure as the mutilating procedures conducted earlier and even now in secondary cancer care centers. But we haven’t stopped innovating! We want to a still better deal. We want to inflict lesser trauma and have the same or even a better chance of cure that is how Radio Frequency Ablation was born.

It is a simple method of precisely burning these tumors using ultra thin needles. This is accomplished by circulating a 30 watt current at a frequency of 500 Kilo hertz which raises the needle tip temperature to 950 C. maintain this temperature for 12-15 min results in necrosis and death of tumor cells. This procedure was gained initial acceptance for the treatment of primary tumors of liver, lung, bone but has now found its way into the armamentarium of breast cancer treatment. Usually this outpatient treatment is done under guidance of simple ultrasound or MRI under local anesthesia. That is why RFA is getting extremely popular amongst elderly patient aged 70 yr or above who usually suffer from multiple other diseases and classical surgery under general anesthesia is a risky affair for them. The other advantage which appeals to professionals and patients is the virtual nonexistence of complications and the cosmetic results are excellent since no cuts are made on the breast surface.

Studies are currently underway worldwide to establish that this procedure could replace surgery as the primary treatment of breast tumors less than 3cm in size, low grade in behavior and perhaps better even better control could be achieved by combining this procedure with another noninvasive method like radiation therapy. Yet another area of current interest is whether burning 0.5cm of normal breast tissue with this technique immediately after breast conserving surgery, would do away with six weeks of cumbersome radiation therapy which is otherwise the rule. Last but not least is the promise that this method offers to treat breast cancer spread to liver, lung, and bone that to with minimal side effects.

Onkaulogy Kombine’s team of surgical oncologist offer Radio Frequency Ablation for breast cancer treatment in Delhi.