Background.Patients presenting with stage IV breast cancer might benefit by removal of the primary tumor. We report our experience with CT-guided cryoablation of the primary tumor, with the aim of evaluating its role in this subgroup of patients.Patients and Methods.Data of 35 patients with mean age of 58 years with breast cancer at stage IV submitted to CT-guided cryoablation of the primary tumor between 2010 and 2016 were prospectively evaluated. All patients, except three, were preoperatively and postoperatively evaluated with breast MRI to assess the extent of tumor necrosis. Retreatment was performed in case of incomplete ablation.Results.Mean tumor size was 3.02 ± 1.4 cm. Six patients had multicentric disease. Complete tumor necrosis was 85.7% and 100% at 2-month and 6-month follow-up, respectively, as 5 patients with tumors > 3 cm required a redo cryoablation. No patient developed major complications. Minor side effects occurred in 30 patients (82%). All patients were discharged the same day of the procedure. During a mean follow-up of 46 months (range 3–84), 7 patients (20%) experienced local recurrences that were treated with redo cryoablation, and 7 (20%) died for disease progression.Conclusions.Our results suggest that cryoablation of the primary tumor is safe and effective in the treatment of patients presenting with stage IV breast cancer.

Purpose: Cryoablation (CrA) is a minimally invasive treatment that can be used in primary and metastatic liver cancer. The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of CrA in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and liver metastases. Methods: We retrospectively evaluated the patients who had CrA for HCC or liver metastases between 2015 and 2020. Technical success, complete ablation, CrA-related complications, local tumor progression, local recurrences, and distant metastases were evaluated in the study population. In patients with HCC, the median survival was also estimated. Results: Sixty-four liver tumors in 49 patients were treated with CrA (50 metastases and 14 HCC). The mean tumor diameter was 2.15 cm. The mean follow-up was 19.8 months. Technical success was achieved in the whole study population. Complete tumor ablation was observed after one month in 92% of lesions treated with CrA (79% and 96% in the HCC Group and metastases Group, respectively, p < 0.001). Local tumor progression occurred in 12.5 of lesions, with no difference between the study groups (p = 0.105). Sixteen patients (33%) developed local recurrence (45% and 29% in the HCC Group and metastases Group, respectively, p = 0.477). Seven patients (14%) developed distant metastases in the follow-up period. Ten patients (20.8%) underwent redo CrA for local recurrence or incomplete tumor ablation. Minor complications were observed in 14% of patients. In patients with HCC, the median survival was 22 months. Conclusions: CrA can be safely used for treatment of HCC and liver metastases not amenable of surgical resection. Further studies are necessary to better define the role of CrA in the multidisciplinary treatment of liver malignancies.