1, What Is cryotherapy?
Cryotherapy is a medical technique both ancient and modern. As early as thousands of years ago, ice was used to treat infected wounds and various knife injuries. Ar-He knife, a kind of cryotherapy, is the first technique employing space rocket guidance technology in the world and the only technique with efficacies of ultra-low temperature and thermotherapy. Ar-He knife is a precise apparatus approved by the U.S. FDA for accurately targeting and killing cancer cells.
2, Principle of cryotherapy
Cryotherapy, made up of ultra-low temperature and thermotherapy, in essence is one of important ablation procedures. The temperature of freezed tumor tissue could reach120℃~ 165℃ below zero in a dozen of seconds and turn into ice ball when the argon gas is quickly released trough needle point. The tumor tissue inside ice ball is trapped in a "starving and extremely cold "condition-----no blood or oxygen supplies could be maintained in the ultra-low temperature of 165℃ below zero and results in coagulation necrosis.
The temperature, in contrast, could reach 20℃~40℃ when Helium is rapidly released through needle point. Then the freezed ice ball is defrosted and blasted, thus tumor tissue is destroyed. The speed and duration of cooling and heating as well as size and shape of ice ball can be precisely designed and controlled.
3, Treatment procedures of cryotherapy
It is the most common approach to percutaneously insert freezing needle into tumor and infuse Argon to cause rapid drop in temperature inside tumor and then switch to Helium to heat the ice ball under ultrasound or CT guidance. The procedures of cooling and heating alternate at least 2 cycles. Freezing is supposed not to be suspended until ice ball covers the whole tumor and its surrounding tissue 5 to 10 mm in thickness. Multiple freezing needles should be employed for big tumors. Sometimes, two to three procedures are required when necessary.
Ar-He needle is inserted by percutaneous puncture under CT guidance
The needle can accurately insert into the tumor tissue
Ice ball forms in continuous freezing of Ar-he knife
Dressing is applied to minimally invasive incision after cryotherapy finishes. Patients are allowed to go back to their ward for rests.
4、Revolutionary efficacy: one therapy, two approaches, three effects
Revolutionary breakthrough of Ar-He knife in medicine lies in its unique system of rapid argon cooling and helium heating. Helium can freeze tumor tissue into ice ball and kill tumor cells within a minute while it will cause no damage to normal tissue.
Rapidly increased temperature is obtained after freezing procedure followed by a second rapid freezing. Such reversal process of freezing could thoroughly destroy tumor and cause dehydration and rupture or lead to oxygen deficiency due to damaged small vessels of tumor and to death of cancer cell.
Meanwhile, the dead tumor tissue remaining at the original site after freezing ablation could regulate tumor antigen levels and activate anti-tumor/cancer immune response. Cancer cells after freezing ablation are more sensitive to chemotherapy or radiotherapy, namely, to enhance chemotherapy or radiotherapy effects. Hence, Ar-He knife is characteristic of one therapy, two approaches and three effects.
5、Benefits of cryotherapy
(1) High achievement ratio, few complications
(2) Surgery-free, mild bleeding and minimally invasive
(3) Physical therapy with low rates of side effects
(4) It can be applied to almost all kinds of solid tumors.
(5) It can be performed alone or in conjunction with chemotherapy and radiotherapy or surgery.
(6) Remarkable therapeutic effects, easily operated, cost-effective and patient-friendly
(7) Anti-recurrence: tumor recurrence is often detected after surgery. However, residual tumor after surgery does not tend to grow rapidly in a short time after cryoablation therapy.
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