Cryo-Assisted Resection En Bloc, and Cryoablation In Situ, of Primary Breast Cancer Coupled With Intraoperative Ultrasound-Guided Tracer Injection: A Preliminary Clinical Study

The aim of the study was to perform cryosurgery on a primary breast tumor, coupled with simultaneous peritumoral and intratumoral tracer injection of a blue dye, to evaluate lymphatic mapping. We explored the ability of our strategy to prevent tumor cells, but not that of injected tracers, to migrate to the lymphovascular drainage during conventional resection of frozen breast malignancies. Seventeen patients aged 51 (14) years (mean [standard deviation]), presenting primary breast cancer with stage I to IV, were randomly selected and treated in The Rudolfinerhaus Private Clinic in Vienna, Austria, and included in this preliminary clinical study. Under intraoperative ultrasound, 14 patients underwent curative cryo-assisted tumor resection en bloc, coupled with peritumoral tracer injection, which consisted of complete tumor freezing and concomitant peritumor injection with a blue dye, before resection and sentinel lymph node dissection (group A). Group B consists of 3 patients previously refused any standard therapy and had palliative tumor cryoablation in situ combined with intratumoral tracer injection. The intraoperative ultrasound facilitated needle positioning and dye injection timing. In group A, the frozen site extruded the dye that was distributed through the unfrozen tumor, the breast tissue, and the resection cavity for 12 patients. One to 4 lymph nodes were stained for 10 of 14 patients. The resection margin was evaluable. Our intraoperative ultrasound-guided performance revealed the injection and migration of a blue dye during the frozen resection en bloc and cryoablation in situ of primary breast tumors. Sentinel lymph node mapping, pathological determination of the tumor, and resection margins were achievable. The study paves the way for intraoperative cryo-assisted therapeutic strategies for breast cancer.