Interstitial laser photocoagulation (ILP) is a new minimally invasive technique which can produce localized necrosis in the center of solid organs. Breast cancer can now be treated safely in selected patients by lumpectomy followed by radiotherapy. Taking the concept of conservative treatment a step further would it be possible to destroy breast cancers in situ leaving the area to heal by resorption and fibrosis? Thirty seven patients with early breast cancer scheduled for surgery underwent ILP in the interval between diagnosis and surgery. The technique was performed under local anaesthesia, and ultrasound (US) used to place an optical fiber into the tumor. Treatment was curtailed in 4 patients because of pain. Thermal necrosis varied from 2 - 25 mm as measured microscopically but in 4 patients no necrosis was evident. No complications arose as a result of treatment. When charring was present in the excised tumor a larger diameter of necrosis was evident than when charring was absent (mean 15 mm vs 5 mm) and a study in 10 patients using a pre-charred fiber produced a more predictable and larger diameter of necrosis (mean 17 mm). Ultrasound did not accurately predict the extent of laser induced necrosis (although it was better at predicting tumor size).
Low-power interstitial laser photocoagulation for breast cancer
Laser Interaction with Hard and Soft Tissue ; 1993 ; Budapest,Hungary
Proc. SPIE ; 2077
1994-02-01
Conference paper
Electronic Resource
English
High power diffusing tip fibers for photocoagulation
IEEE | 1996
|High Power Diffusing Tip Fibers for Photocoagulation
British Library Conference Proceedings | 1996
|Computer Assisted Photocoagulation for Treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy: Preliminary Results
British Library Conference Proceedings | 1997
|Computer assisted photocoagulation for treatment of diabetic retinopathie: preliminary results
Automotive engineering | 1997
|