Freezing Away Cancer
Reported September 14, 2007
BALTIMORE, Md. (Ivanhoe Broadcast News) — Many people think of heartburn as something that’s slightly uncomfortable. But for some people, it can develop into a life-threatening condition.
Years of heartburn forced Bill Mohler to trade in orange juice for coffee at breakfast.
“One of my vices is coffee,” he says. “I drink about three cups a day.”
After 50 years of acid reflux, Mohler was still shocked to learn he’d developed Barrett’s esophagus — a condition where acid eats away the esophagus’ lining and precancerous cells grow in their place.
“They couldn’t have cured it,” Mohler says. “It would have become cancer.”
But timing was on Mohler’s side. He soon found out he was eligible to take part in a pilot study testing a new device designed to kill precancerous cells.
“The low-pressure spray liquid nitrogen is a new technique,” says Bruce Greenwald, M.D., a gastroenterologist at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore.
During the procedure, doctors anesthetize patients, send an endoscope down the esophagus and spray the abnormal area with liquid nitrogen. The liquid nitrogen freezes the bad cells and kills them.
Doctors let the cells thaw for 45 seconds before spraying and thawing the area three more times.
“The patients tolerate the treatment very well,” says Dr. Greenwald. “We’re seeing a regression of the bad cells.”
The procedure takes about 20 minutes, and patients feel little discomfort. In fact, they’re usually up and about the same day. Dr. Greenwald says the results of the study are promising.
“To some degree, [the procedure] helped everyone,” he says.
Larger trials will now be conducted at several hospitals to confirm the results, and patients like Mohler will continue to be followed. For now, Mohler’s bad cells are gone, and he feels great.
“I’m blessed,” he says. “It’s almost like hitting the lottery.”
Now, he and his wife can enjoy the retirement they always planned on.
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