Cryoablation with carbon dioxide could help poor countries cure breast cancer

A new reusable cryoablation device developed by researchers at Johns Hopkins University has demonstrated its potential to help treat bad cancer patients in low-income countries.

The new technique uses carbon dioxide instead of argon gas to induce freezing temperatures. The results of the study were published in PLOS One.

Cryoablation, the process of killing cancerous tissue by freezing, is preferable to surgical removal of tumors in resource-limited settings because it eliminates the need for a sterile operating room and a Anesthesia. However, a single treatment typically costs more than $ 10,000 and is dependent on argon gas – which is generally not available in low-income countries – to form tissue-destroying ice crystals.

The lack of treatment options means that survival rates in resource-poor countries, such as The Gambia, are as low as 12%, compared to survival rates above 90% in the United States and in the United Kingdom.

Bailey Surtees, a biomedical engineering graduate from Johns Hopkins University, said, "Instead of saying" She has bad cancer, "the locals we met during focus groups for our research reported "She's dead," because bad cancer is often considered an automatic death sentence. these communities. "

The new cryoablation tool was initially used on ultrasonic gel jars, a substance that thermodynamically mimics human bad tissue, to determine if it could reach standard gel temperatures that kill cancerous tissue and form homogenous ice pellets . The device has consistently reached temperatures below -40 ° C, meeting standard freeze temperatures for tissue death for similar devices in the United States.

In the second experiment, the team treated nine mammary tumors in nine rats, successfully killing 85% or more of tissue for all tumors.

It was then tested on the liver of a pig, whose temperature is similar to that of a human bad, and could remain cold enough throughout the experiment to kill the target tissue.

Nicholas Durr, an badistant professor of biomedical engineering at Johns Hopkins University, said, "When we started the project, experts in the area told us that it was impossible to bulk up of significant tissues with carbon dioxide. This state of mind may be due to both the dynamism of the field and the lack of reflection on the importance of reducing the cost of this treatment. "

The team is now working to ensure that the device can still kill cancerous tissue under the same thermal conditions as human bad tissue. The researchers hope to continue testing their device for use on humans and possibly expand the use to pets.