Feasibility study on radiofrequency ablation followed by partial mastectomy for stage I breast cancer patients

To evaluate the safety and reliability of thermal ablation therapy instead of breast-conserving surgery (BCS), we performed radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for clinical stage I breast cancer patients. Subjects were T1N0 breast cancer patients with no extensive intraductal components. Under general anesthesia, sentinel node biopsy was performed, followed by RFA and BCS. Resected specimens were examined at 5-mm intervals by hematoxylin–eosin (H&E) staining and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) diaphorase staining. Thirty of the 34 eligible patients were enrolled. RFA-related adverse events were observed in nine patients: two with skin burn and seven with muscle burn. Twenty-six patients (87%) showed pathological degenerative changes in tumor specimens with H&E staining. In 24 of the 26 cases (92%) examined by NADH diaphorase staining, tumor cell viability was diagnosed as negative. RFA proved to be reliable and feasible in clinical stage I breast cancer, with no extensive intraductal components. Randomized clinical trials are needed to compare RFA with BCS.