Table 1. Summary of studies on radiofrequency ablation and breast cancer.
| Study references | N | Tumor size range (cm) | Average tumor size (cm) | RFA electrode | Complete ablation, n [%] | Resection | Complications |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Izzo et al., 2001 (9)a | 26 | 0.7-3.0 | 1.8 | LeVeen | 25 [96] | Immediate | 1 skin burn |
| Burak et al., 2003 (10) | 10 | 0.8-1.6 | 1.2 | Multiarray | 9 [90] | Delay (1-3 weeks) | Minimal breast ecchymosis |
| Hayashi et al., 2003 (11) | 22 | 0.5-2.6 | 0.9 | Starburst | 20 [86] | Delay (1-2 weeks) | 1 skin burn, 2 minimal bruising |
| Singletary et al., 2003 (12) | 29 | <2.0 | – | Starburst | 25 [86] | Immediate | 1 skin burn |
| Fornage et al., 2004 (13) | 21 | 0.6-2.0 | 1.2 | Starburst | 21 [100] | Immediate | None |
| Noguchi et al., 2006 (14) | 10 | 0.5-2.0 | 1.1 | Starburst | 10 [100] | Immediate | None |
| Klimberg et al., 2006 (15) | 41 | 0.1-4.0 | 1.6 | Starburst | 31 [75] | Lumpectomy followed by RFA | 2 skin burns, 1 delayed healing in diabetic |
| Susini et al., 2007 (16) | 3 | 1.0-1.3 | 1.16 | Cool-Tip | 3 [100] | Delay—core biopsies | None |
| Oura et al., 2007 (17) | 52 | 0.5-2.0 | 1.3 | Cool-Tip | 52 [100] | Delay—cytological evaluation | 1 skin burn, mass formation at site of RFA |
| Khatri et al., 2007 (18) | 15 | 0.8-1.5 | 1.28 | Cool-Tip | 14 [93] | Immediate | 2 skin puckering, 1 wound infection |
| Marcy et al., 2007 (19) | 5 | cT1-2N0M0 | – | Elektrotom | 4 [80] | Delay—core biopsies | 4/4 firm mass 4 cm × 5 cm, 1 abscess |
| Earashi et al., 2007 (20) | 17 | 0.5-2.4 | 1.1 | Starburst | 17 [100] | Immediate | None |
| Earashi et al., 2007 (20) | 7 | 0.7-2.0 | 1.1 | Starburst | 7 [100] | Delay—mammotome excision | None |
| Medina-Franco et al., 2008 (21) | 25 | 0.9-3.8 | 2.08 | Elektrotom | 19 [76] | Immediate | 3 skin burns |
| Imoto et al., 2009 (22) | 30 | 0.9-2.4 | 1.7 | LeVeen | 27 [93] | Immediate | 2 skin burns, 7 muscle burns |
| Manenti et al., 2009 (23) | 34 | 1.65-1.96 | 1.89 | Cool-Tip | 33 [97] | Delay (4 weeks) | 1 skin burn |
| Wiksell et al., 2010 (24) | 31 | 0.6-1.5 | 1.13 | Neodynamics | 26 [84] | Immediate | 1 pneumothorax, 2 muscle burns, 1 skin burn |
| Motoyoshi et al., 2010 (25) | 17 | 0.5-2.1 | 1.5 | Starburst | 14 [82] | Immediate | 2 distant mets (f/u 49 months) |
| Motoyoshi et al., 2010 (25)b | 17 | 0.5-2.0 | 1.2 | Starburst | 8 [50] | Delay (30-202 days) | 1 distant mets |
| Brkljacic et al., 2010 (26) | 7 | 1.0-2.7 | – | Saline infusion | 6 [86] | Delay—core biopsies | None |
| Kinoshita et al., 2011 (27) | 49 | 0.5-3.0 | 1.70 | Cool-Tip | 37 [76] | Immediate | 2 skin burns, 3 muscle burns |
| Yamamoto et al., 2011 (28) | 30 | 0.5-1.9 | 1.28 | Cool-Tip | 28 [93] | Delay—mammotome biopsies | 3 skin burns, 1 mastitis |
| Ohtani et al., 2011 (29) | 9 | 0.5-1.8 | 1.3 | Cool-Tip | 4 [44] | Immediate | None |
| Ohtani et al., 2011 (29) | 32 | 0.5-1.8 | 1.3 | Cool-Tip | 32 [100] | Delay (1-2 months) | 1 skin burn |
| Vilar et al., 2012 (30) | 14 | 1.0-2.5 | 1.76 | LeVeen | 7 [50] | Delay (4 weeks) | 1 fistula, 1 skin burn |
| Noguchi et al., 2012 (31)b | 19 | 0.5-2.0 | 1.3 | Starburst | 10 [56] | Delay (24-202 days) | 1 skin dimple, 9 persistent lump |
| Yoshinaga et al., 2013 (32) | 14 | 0.6-2.0 | 1.2 | Cool-Tip | 6 [100] | 6 immediate, 8 core biopsy | 1 skin burn |
| Mackey et al., 2012 (33) | 16 | <3.0 | 0.775 | Unknown | 16 [100] | Lumpectomy followed by RFA | 1 re-excision |
| Palussiere et al., 2012 (34) | 21 | <3.0 | – | LeVeen | 17 [81] | Most none, biopsy if indicated | 4 recurrences, palpable mass in 18/21 |
| Kreb et al., 2013 (35)c | 20 | 0.4-1.5, 0.7-2.3 | 0.98, 1.2 | Cool-tip | 17 [85] | Prior to RFA | None |
a, Izzo et al. report cT1-T2; b, one patient refused excision; c, Kreb et al. reported pre-operative and post-operative tumor sizes (shown in table respectively). Abbreviations: RFA, radiofrequency ablation; mets, metastasis; f/u, follow-up.