CHANDIGARH: A scientist at IIT Ropar has found a way to reduce skin burns caused during treatment of breast cancer, thereby reducing the trauma patients suffer. Worldwide, breast cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed type of cancer after lung cancer. Skin burns are one of the most common complications reported during treatment of early-stage breast cancer with radiofrequency ablation (RFA).
A group led by Dr Ramjee Repaka, Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, IIT Ropar, conducted a numerical study to address this problem.
“Skin burn is a major issue during RF heating of tumour located close to the breast surface. Quantification of the requirement of convective cooling during RF heating can circumvent the skin burns effectively,” Repaka told The Sunday Standard.
The study evaluated the efficacy of forced convective cooling in minimizing skin burns during RFA. It revealed that the application of forced convective cooling with RFA effectively minimises skin burns at the surface of the breast, with a marginal increase in the time required for complete tumour necrosis, from 11.67 minutes to a maximum of 18 minutes. It was further found that convective cooling at the surface of the breast had a negligible effect on the applied input power requirement during application of RFA.
“Globally, breast cancer represents a significant personal, social and economic burden that affects women in the prime of their lives. It is the most frequently diagnosed cancer among women, with the leading cause of mortality.”
“Worldwide, breast cancer is the second most diagnosed type of cancer after lung cancer (11.9 per cent of all cancer incidence) and the fifth most common cause of death by cancer (6.4 per cent of all cancer deaths). According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 1,44,937 new cases of breast cancer were diagnosed in India in 2012, with 70,218 cases of death. The rapid rise in breast cancer cases among women in India is so alarming that for the first time it has crossed cervical cancer, which ruled the top position for almost four decades in terms of incidence as well as deaths,” he said.
Repeka said early detection of breast lump had improved dramatically due to increased awareness and widespread screening and mammography programmes, which have given a boost to non-surgical modalities for treating cancer.
He added that RFA could be used for both curative and palliative indicators and had been used against solid tumours throughout the body, including the liver, lungs, kidneys and bone tumours, bone metastasis and breast cancer. It uses low-frequency radio waves with a long wavelength to generate heat and cause coagulative necrosis.
During RFA, a needle electrode is inserted under ultrasound guidance to deliver an alternating current that causes ionic agitation, tissue heating and cell death.