Dennis R. Holmes, M.D., F.A.C.S., with locations in Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Glendale, and Los Angeles, California, is an expert in cryoablation and serves as principal investigator of the FROST Trial, a national clinical trial evaluating the use of cryoablation (tumor freezing) as an alternative to surgery for the treatment of early stage breast cancer.
Joan Lunden Interviews Dr. Holmes about Cryoablation
Cryoablation is a groundbreaking new treatment for breast tumor freezing. Cryoablation has been used for many years on liver, skin, and cervical cancers, as well as, benign tumors within the breast. However, cryoablation has only recently been adapted to treat breast cancer. A recent national study in which Dr. Holmes participated, found cryoablation to be 100% effective at killing tumors 1 cm or smaller, and 92% effective at killing tumors 2 cm or smaller.
The cryoablation procedure is similar to having an ultrasound-guided needle biopsy of the breast. The procedure is performed in the office with the patient awake and comfortable. First, ultrasound of the breast is performed to identify the location of the cancer. Next, local anesthetic is injected into the skin and into to interior of the breast. A small (3mm) skin incision is made. Then a needle-like instrument called a cryoprobe is inserted through the skin incision and passed through the center of the breast cancer. The cryoablation system is then turned on and liquid nitrogen flows through the cryoprobe to freeze the cancer and a surrounding rim of normal tissue to a temperature of -185, an extremely cold cancer-killing temperatures. The freezing process takes approximately 30 minutes, and the entire procedure takes about 1 hour from start to finish.
Cryoablation may be obtained under the following circumstance:
1. FROST Trial: Cryoablation is available to participants in the Freezing Instead of Removal Of Small Tumors (FROST) Trial, a national study of the use of cryoablation in the treatment of early-stage breast cancer. Dr. Holmes designed the FROST Trial and serves as chair of this national trial. The FROST is open to women that meet the following criteria:
The cost of all trial-related procedures (e.g., cryoablation, follow-up MRI’s and post-cryoablation needle biopsy) are free of charge to women who qualify for and participate in the FROST Trial.
Women receiving cryoablation off-protocol are required to pay out-of-pocket for the procedure. Please contact Dr. Holmes’s office for more details.
Out-of-town patients may submit their imaging studies and pathology reports to Dr. Holmes’s office for assessment of eligibility for the FROST Trial or off-protocol cryoablation. There is no charge for this service.
To verify complete tumor kill, patients treated with cryoablation as part of the FROST Trial are required to undergo a repeat needle biopsy of the killed tumor six months after cryoablation to confirm that no living cancer remains. Surgical removal of cancer will be recommended if living cancer cells are found.
Also, participation in the FROST Trial must undergo the following treatments:
"He treated my daughter who had stage one breast cancer. He put us at ease and calmed our fears , he was the perfect surgeon for our situation."
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"Dr. Holmes is kind, professional, and has a lot of patience answering every question you might have."
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