Objective:Toevaluatethesafetyandefficacyofexternalhigh-intensityfocusedultrasound(HIFU)castrationforbreastcancerouspatientsaftermastectomyiftheyareatahighriskofrecurrence.Methods:Werecruited52consecutivepatientswithprimaryoperablebreastcancerwhoweretreatedwithmastectomywithexcisionofregionallymphnodes.PatientswerepositiveforERandPRimmuno-cytochemicalstaining,node-positive,un-menopause,over40yearsoldandwerepidedintotwogroupsrandomly.Forcastration,26patientsreceivedoneortwotimesofHIFUtreatmentwithinfivedays,andtheotherpatientsreceivedradiotherapywithDT18Gy/9f/11days.Duringandafterthetreatment,localchangesandsystemicresponseofthepatientswereobserved.Results:After1monthtreatment,levelsofserumE1andE2weresignificantlydecreasedcomparedtobeforetreatmentinHIFUgroups(P<0.01andP<0.001).Thesamechangeswereoccurredinradiotherapy(RT)groups(P<0.05andP<0.01).ThelevelsofserumE1orE2inRTgroupswerehigherthaninHIFUgroups(P<0.05).Thesymptomdistributionof'climactericsyndrome'ofHIFUgroupsweresignificantlydifferentfromRTgroups(P<0.01).Thefollow-uptimewas4months.Theincidenceofamenorrheawas100%inallpatients.Noseriouscomplicationswereseen.Thetemperature,pulse,bloodpressure,andrespiratoryrateofthepatientswerealmostnormal.Conclusion:WehaveshownthattheuseofHIFUinthecastratingofpatientswithbreastcancerisfeasible,safeandeffective.ThistechnologymayprovidearapidnoninvasivealterativetoconventionalbilateraloophorectomyorRTcastration.
