Breast cancer presents an ongoing challenge in regard to treatment efficacy and successful clinical outcomes. There has been a challenge to increase the survival rate over the past 50 years and only recently have clinical outcomes improved, although slightly. Thermal treatment regimes have been evolving and most recently, have been applied in situ. A standalone treatment for malignancies is challenging due to the rigor in achieving homogeneity in the distribution of therapeutic temperatures in the tumor and the lack of therapy in the adjacent normal tissue. Although initial work used lasers, contemporary work utilizes radiofrequency (RF) or cryotherapy as a treatment modality. Both monopolar and bipolar RF devices were modeled for the RF treatments in the breast. Using finite element techniques, these two modalities were simulated in breast tissue and the results of the bioheat equation compared for similar sized devices. The model incorporated changing electrical and thermal properties of tissue with temperature, as well as blood flow changes. For thermal treatment, the isotherm of +55 degree(s)C was considered the margin of coagulation necrosis, while for cryotreatment, the -40 degree(s)C isotherm was used. The comparison aids in the selection of the best method to improve clinical outcomes, while paying attention to the size of the applicator and time length of treatment.

Date Published: 21 May 2001
PDF: 16 pages
Proc. SPIE 4244, Lasers in Surgery: Advanced Characterization, Therapeutics, and Systems XI, (21 May 2001); doi: 10.1117/12.427843

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 4244:
Lasers in Surgery: Advanced Characterization, Therapeutics, and Systems XI
Lawrence S. Bass M.D.; David S. Robinson M.D.; Eugene A. Trowers M.D.; Kenton W. Gregory M.D.; Lou Reinisch; Kenneth Eugene Bartels D.V.M.; R. Rox Anderson M.D.; Reza S. Malek M.D.; Kenneth Eugene Bartels D.V.M.; Lloyd P. Tate V.D.M.; Abraham Katzir; C. Gaelyn Garrett M.D.; Timothy A. Woodward M.D.; Hans-Dieter Reidenbach; George M. Peavy D.V.M.; Lawrence S. Bass M.D.; C. Gaelyn Garrett M.D.; Michael D. Lucroy D.V.M.; Kenton W. Gregory M.D.; Abraham Katzir; Nikiforos Kollias; Michael D. Lucroy D.V.M.; Reza S. Malek M.D.; J. Stuart Nelson M.D.; George M. Peavy D.V.M.; Hans-Dieter Reidenbach; Lou Reinisch; David S. Robinson M.D.; Lloyd P. Tate V.D.M.; Eugene A. Trowers M.D.; Timothy A. Woodward M.D., Editor(s)