What are the limitations of Cryotherapy?
Cryotherapy is an alternative cancer treatment when surgical removal of a tumour may be difficult or, for some patients, impossible. But its long-term effectiveness is still being examined. Currently, little published data deal with the results of percutaneous cryotherapy, but seven-year follow-up for prostate cancer suggests cancer-control rates are similar to surgery or radiation therapy. • Cryotherapy is considered a localized therapy. It can only treat disease at a single site. It cannot treat cancer that has spread to other parts of the body. • Because physicians treat the tumours they see on radiologic images, microscopic cancer can be missed. • Although its use in the bone, kidneys, liver and lung is promising, cryotherapy may be considered experimental; consequently, many medical insurance companies will not pay for the procedure. Despite general U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval, early experience with cryotherapy makes most physicians reserve it for patients who
