Breaking Update: Here’s a clear explanation of the latest developments related to Breaking News:Breast Cancer Cryoablation Shows Low Recurrence – European Medical Journal Breast Cancer Cryoablation: 6-Year FROST Data– What Just Happened and why it matters right now.
SIX-YEAR FROST trial data suggest cryoablation can durably control Stage I breast tumors, with low recurrence reported overall.
Breast Cancer Cryoablation in the FROST Trial
Cryoablation is gaining attention as a minimally invasive alternative to lumpectomy for carefully selected patients with early-stage disease. The prospective, Phase II, multicenter FROST clinical trial evaluated cryoablation for stage I, hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative, node-negative invasive ductal carcinoma, using six-year outcomes to assess durability of local disease control.
Who Was Treated and How Cryoablation Was Delivered
The study enrolled women aged 50 years or older with unifocal, ultrasound-visible tumors. Patients were stratified by age: those aged 70 years or older (stratum 1) received endocrine therapy only, while those aged 50–69 years (stratum 2) received endocrine therapy plus radiotherapy, with sentinel node biopsy allowed as an option. Cryoablation was performed under ultrasound guidance using a single cryoprobe, followed by a core biopsy at 6 months to confirm complete ablation.
Across 83 completed cryoablations with follow-up evaluations, the median tumor size was 9 mm. Endocrine therapy was used in most participants, including 89% of stratum 1 and 85.7% of stratum 2. In stratum 2, 74.3% received the recommended whole-breast radiation.
Recurrence Outcomes and Safety at Six Years
Post-ablation core biopsy was completed in 82 of 83 patients at 6 months, with no residual cancer detected. One patient declined the biopsy. During a median follow-up of 6.1 years, the 5-year ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence rate was 3.64% overall, with lower recurrence in stratum 1 (2.08%) compared with stratum 2 (5.80%). Invasive ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence-free survival remained high at 97.59% overall, with similarly strong outcomes across both strata. No serious adverse events were reported.
Why This Matters for De-Escalation Research
These findings add to evidence that breast cancer cryoablation may offer effective local control with a favorable safety profile in select early-stage patients, supporting ongoing investigation into therapy de-escalation strategies.
Reference: Holmes DR et al. Cryoablation: A Minimally Invasive Alternative for Early-Stage Breast Cancer: 6-Year Outcomes of the FROST Clinical Trial. Ann Surg Oncol. 2026;doi:10.1245/s10434-025-18991-2.