Microwave ablation without subsequent lumpectomy versus breast-conserving surgery for early breast cancer: a propensity score matching study.

PURPOSE

To compare the efficacy of ultrasound-guided percutaneous microwave ablation (MWA) without subsequent lumpectomy and breast-conserving surgery (BCS) in patients with early breast cancer (BC).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This retrospective cohort study enrolled 106 patients with early BC (T N M) treated by MWA ( = 21) or BCS ( = 85) from October 2014 to December 2020. Propensity score matching (PSM) was performed to balance the baseline characteristics between MWA and BCS groups. The tumor progression, overall survival (OS), disease-specific survival (DSS), complications, and cosmetic results were compared.

RESULTS

After PSM, there were 21 patients with balanced baseline characteristics in each group. After a median follow-up of 43 months (range, 15-89 months), there was no significant difference in tumor progression (10% vs 2%,  = 0.18), OS (96% vs 99%,  = 0.36), DSS (100% vs 99%,  > 0.99), and complications (0% vs 19%,  = 0.58). The operation time of MWA was shorter (60 min vs 101 min,  < 0.001) than that of BCS. For the management of metastatic lymph nodes, five (5/21, 24%) patients with six metastatic nodes underwent ablation in the MWA group and three patients (3/21, 14%) with six metastatic nodes underwent axillary lymph node dissection in the BCS group. All the patients in the MWA group reported excellent cosmetic results, but 29% of BCS patients expressed dissatisfaction with breast asymmetry (10%) and scar formation (19%) ( < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

This pilot study indicated that in selected early BC patients, microwave ablation without subsequent lumpectomy had comparable tumor control effect with breast-conserving surgery and better cosmetic results at an intermediate follow-up.HighlightsMWA without subsequent lumpectomy has a comparable interim survival effect and better cosmetic results as BCS in the treatment of selected early breast cancer.MWA has the potential to be a viable and promising therapeutic option for breast cancer patients reluctant or intolerant to surgery with the advantage of minimal invasion.