Cryotherapy or cryoablation (Cryo is from the Greek for frost or extreme cold. Ablation refers to removal or elimination.) is the use of extreme cold to kill tumor cells. A probe containing an extremely cold fluid is placed inside/on the area to be treated and the tumor (or abnormal growth) is frozen. Cryotherapy can be performed during a open (fully invasive) surgery or the probes can be inserted through the skin in a minimally invasive procedure. The liquid does not enter the tumor, but the rod is cold enough to freeze the tumor.
Cryotherapy freezes and kills cancer cells and any nearby normal cells.
The cold liquid is not actually placed into the tumor. It is inside a rod. The rod may have to be inserted and removed several times.
Cryotherapy is used to treat several different pre-cancerous and cancerous conditions, including: kidney cancer1, 2 lung cancer1, esophageal cancer3, liver cancer4, cervical intraepitheal neoplasia (CIN)5, prostate cancer6, retinoblastomaA cancer of the retina. Found most often in small children; this disease has been linked to the inheritance of mutated copies of the Rb tumor suppressor gene. For more information, see the entries on Rb and Tumor Suppressor.7 and skin neoplasms8.
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