Source: westsuburbanjournal.com
Author: Nicole Trottie

A new treatment at Loyola Medical Center freezes throat cancer in its tracks.  The new procedure,  called cryospray ablation, demonstrated by nurses Tuesday and Loyola, uses nitrogen to freeze the inside of the  throat and destroy cancer cells in Barrett’s esophagus, a rapidly increasing type of cancer.
   
Patricia Carlson can’t remember ever feeling as optimistic about the future as she does today.  Having a family  history of cancer and being a long-time sufferer of Barrett’s esophagus, a pre-cancerous condition largely  caused by acid reflux disease, Carlson worried for years about developing esophageal cancer, the fastest growing cancer in the United States, according to the American Cancer Society.
   
“My reflux was so bad that I’d drink water and it wouldn’t go down. It would hang up and it would come right back  up within minutes,” said Carlson about her condition in which acid from her stomach flows into her esophagus,  dangerously altering its lining. “I was really afraid I was going to get esophageal cancer.”
   
“I’m really happy with it,” said Carlson, whose Barrett’s was more than 77 percent eliminated after an initial  treatment. “It’s given me a great sense of relief that something can actually be done that will be more permanent  and complete than the other treatments.”
   
Overall patients prefer the treatment over heat therapies previously used to treat Barrett’s.  Angeline Johnson, of  Woodridge, said the cold therapy was painless and “really is better.”  Other previous methods of treatment  included surgery to cut out a section of the throat, a painful and difficult procedure.
    
The condition is most prevalent among those with acid reflux, in which acid from the stomach irritates the  esophagus.  A rise in acid reflux is believed to be a factor in the sixfold increase in throat cancer in the U.S. since  the 1970s, according to Dr. Jack Leya, who helped bring the cryotherapy to Loyola.
    
The cold therapy requires repeat treatment, but Leya said it’s much faster, removing 70 to 90 percent of the  precancerous growth after one treatment.
   
Liquid nitrogen, at 325 degrees below zero Fahrenheit, has been used in dermatology since the 1950s to freeze  warts and skin cancer. Leya hoped it might be used someday to treat other internal conditions, such as cancer of  the colon.
   
“This is truly revolutionary. This is very impressive. One patient had more than 99 percent of his Barrett’s gone  after his initial treatment,” Leya said. “I’ve never seen patients respond so quickly. The procedure is a painless  treatment for Barrett’s.  I believe the future is here.”
   
In this new minimally invasive treatment, Leya inserts a special catheter through a small, flexible tube called an  endoscope and sprays liquid nitrogen that’s cooled to minus 270 degrees Fahrenheit onto the pre-cancerous  tissue in the esophagus. The tissue is frozen for a few seconds, allowed to thaw and then refrozen. In most  cases, patients experience no pain or bleeding during treatment and face a much lower risk of perforation. The  treated tissue eventually dies and sloughs off, allowing normal tissue to grow back in its
place.
   
Cryospray ablation takes 15 minutes to a couple of hours while the patient is sedated. Afterward, patients can  down snacks like Oreos and juice immediately afterward, and go home the same day. The cost of the procedure  is typically covered by insurance.
   
Loyola is the first hospital in Illinois to offer the treatment, and other hospitals in the Chicago area are expected  implement the procedure.