New Thermosurgery Technology Offers Skin Cancer Treatment that is Easier on Patients and Produces Less Scarring

PHOENIX - On the 4th of July many of us celebrate our independence with outdoor activities.  In Arizona, that continued outdoor exposure can lead to skin cancer if you are not protecting yourself from the suns harmful rays.  But now one treatment for skin cancer could be less painful, less time consuming and less disfiguring to patients.

The Carl T. Hayden Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center and Clinics is pioneering the use of a new non-surgical technique to remove skin cancer lesions and is actually the first facility in the country to use the technology which recently received FDA approval.  The Thermosurgery device was manufactured by Phoenix-based Thermosurgery Technologies, Inc. and is being used to treat basal cell carcinoma, the most common type of skin cancer.

The hypothermia technology, approved by the FDA in February, uses localized heat that causes skin cancer tumor cells to die, but is not hot enough to burn the skin. Typically, treatment of skin cancer consists of surgery - either by cutting out the tumor or by scraping and burning it - and also may utilize radiation or chemotherapy. Standard surgical treatment can be a long, painful process for patients that results in significant scarring. Patients often require cosmetic surgery after removal of the tumors.

VA Medical Center patient John Shultz of Phoenix has had to endure repeated cutting and burning to treat his skins cancers. The retired Marine has had about 20 cancerous lesions removed - some recently with the hyperthermia technology. Shultz, who says he has a high tolerance for pain, describes the new technology as "a walk in the park," compared with surgical treatment.

"The (cutting and burning) is a lot more painful (after the procedure)," says Shultz. "This new treatment is much easier on the patient, and I think the areas are healing faster."

His doctor, Christopher Reardon, MD, Chief of Dermatology at the VA Medical Center, says the non-surgical removal of skin cancer tumors is especially beneficial for elderly and debilitated patients, and those who are on anticoagulant therapy, making surgery less desirable. The device that delivers the hyperthermia treatment uses a hand-held applicator about the size of a ball-point pen, and has a tip with two metal prongs that is placed on the skin tumor.  Similar to a microwave, the prongs generate a radiofrequency that heats the tumor to 120o F. Treatment of each tumor only lasts for 30 seconds.

Besides saving many patients the time of undergoing a long surgical procedure, the treatment can result in better cosmetic outcomes, since the skin is not cut or burned, says Dr. Reardon. The device also is effective for the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis, a parasitic disease of the skin that can be acquired by Iraq war veterans.  The hypothermia technology can be used instead of taking strong oral anti-parasite drugs.

"The mission of the VA is to offer the latest treatment technology for veterans at every opportunity," adds Dr. Reardon. "Use of this technology is currently being explored by the VA podiatrists, and the ear, nose and throat surgeons may soon be following suit."

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