Cryoablation in male patients with breast cancer: a case report

Male breast cancer is rare, and because of its low incidence, treatment strategies often rely on data extrapolated from female breast cancer. Cryoablation has emerged as a promising local treatment modality for breast cancer; however, published experience regarding its use in male breast cancer remains extremely limited. This study includes two male patients with early-stage breast carcinoma who underwent cryoablation. The first case involved a 71-year-old Brazilian male with a 3 cm nodule in the left breast, confirmed by imaging as a suspicious 2.4 cm mass. A biopsy revealed invasive carcinoma of no special type. Cryoablation was performed under local anesthesia using a single probe and two freeze–thaw cycles, creating a 5.6 cm ice ball. The procedure was painless. Post-procedure MRI showed a non-enhancing nodule, suggesting a positive therapeutic response. The patient later underwent mastectomy, which confirmed no residual tumor. The second case involved a 75-year-old American male with a 1.3 cm subareolar lump in the right breast. Due to his history of renal failure and keloid formation, traditional surgery was deemed unsuitable, and cryoablation was chosen. The procedure achieved an ice-ball margin greater than 5 mm around the tumor. Post-treatment imaging, including PET/CT at 3 months, showed no residual cancer. At 20 months of follow-up, no clinical or imaging evidence of recurrence was observed; longer-term follow-up is ongoing. These two cases provide complementary evidence regarding the use of cryoablation in male breast cancer. Case 1 demonstrates the technical feasibility of the procedure with pathological confirmation of complete tumor ablation, whereas Case 2 illustrates the potential role of cryoablation as definitive local treatment in a carefully selected patient; however, complete tumor eradication could not be pathologically confirmed, because no post-ablation biopsy or surgical specimen was available. Although these findings are preliminary, they address an important gap in the literature and support further investigation of cryoablation as a minimally invasive treatment option for selected male patients with breast cancer.