Source: Daily Herald (www.dailyherald.com)
Author: Robert McCoppin
A new treatment at Loyola Medical Center fights throat cancer by using liquid nitrogen to freeze the inside of the throat. The procedure not only helps prevent the most rapidly increasing type of cancer in the United States, but may be used someday to treat other types of cancer. Nurses demonstrated the procedure Tuesday at the hospital in Maywood, where patients swore by it as a vast improvement over other therapies. Compared to a previous heat treatment that left her throat burning for ten days, Angeline Johnson of Woodridge said the cold therapy was painless and “really is better.”The new approach, called cryospray ablation, treats Barrett’s esophagus, a condition in which abnormal cell growth can lead to cancer.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.
An estimated 50 million people in the United States suffer from acid reflux, and 7 million – mostly white men, for unknown reasons – have Barrett’s esophagus.Previously, the most common treatment for Barrett’s esophagus was surgery to cut out a section of the throat, a severe and difficult option.In recent years, radio frequency treatment uses heat to burn off abnormal cells, but it’s painful and requires multiple treatments.The cold therapy also 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,” the doctor said. “I’ve never seen patients respond so quickly… I believe the future is here.”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 to follow suit.