Cryoablation is the technique of using extreme cold to destroy tissue. It has been used for years in medical applications like dermatology, kidney, prostate, and liver to treat both cancerous and non-cancerous tumors.  Dr. Fukuma at Kameda Medical Hospital developed the technology to remove breast cancer by non-surgical cryoablation.  By this non-surgical treatment, Dr. Fukuma's patients avoid the risks and potential cosmetic impact of major breast cancer surgery.

The Kameda Medical Hospitals has cryosurgery for 304 patients from June 2006 to December 2018.  Only three patients among them were discovered to have tumor mass later.  The rest of all the patients has been completed for cancer-free status.

The cryoablation works for a group of breast cancer stage and metastatic status.  The cancer type would be examined before confirmation of the effectiveness of the cryosurgery. Patients could finish surgical operations with an early stage of cancer.  If patients need a pathological examination, patients need to stay two nights at the hospital.

It costs around USD $10,000 and more without Japanese National insurance.

Cryoablation may offer significant, minimally invasive　breast health options.

Dr Eisuke Fukuma MD, PhD, graduated from Iwate medical University in 1979. He did his resident training program in general surgery at St Luke's Hospital in Tokyo for 6 years. From 1985 to 2000, he worked under Professor Tatsuo Yamakawa, who is well known in the field of laparoscopic surgery in Asia. Dr Fukuma has been working on the development of endoscopic breast surgery (EBS) since 1995. This was the first clinical attempt in the world. He was one of the editors of a textbook on EBS published in Japanese in 2002. Dr Fukuma moved to Kameda Medical Center as a director of breast surgery in 2000 and has taken on responsibility as a chairperson of the breast center. Nonsurgical cryoablation for minimal breast cancer has been clinically tried at Kameda Medical Center since 2006 as part of the clinical research program. The purpose of nonsurgical cryoablation is to achieve the same local control rate as breast conservative surgery.