# Thermal ablation and cryotherapy for cervical precancer

Source: https://onco.cc/technologies/precancer-ablation/  
OnCo record `precancer-ablation` (Technology). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Destroying precancerous cervical cells with a heated or frozen probe in under a minute, the tool that makes screen-and-treat possible where there are no surgeons.

## Summary

WHO (2019) recommends thermal ablation (100°C probe, 20-40 seconds) or cryotherapy for eligible CIN2+ lesions in screen-and-treat programmes, often after visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) or HPV testing. Portable battery-powered devices cost a few hundred dollars; cure rates ~85-95% for eligible lesions. Central to the WHO cervical cancer elimination strategy's 90% treatment target.

## Fields

- Kind: Technology
- Status: standard-of-care
- Last checked: 2026-09-07
- Principle: Coagulative necrosis (thermal) or freeze-thaw injury (cryo) of the cervical transformation zone.
- Strengths: Cheap, fast, no anaesthesia or electricity mains; Enables single-visit screen-and-treat
- Limitations: No histology; Not suitable for large or endocervical lesions

## Sources

- WHO guidelines for the use of thermal ablation for cervical pre-cancer lesions (2019): https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241550598

## Connected records

- cancers: [Anal cancer (squamous cell carcinoma)](https://onco.cc/cancers/anal/), [Anal high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (precursor)](https://onco.cc/cancers/anal-hsil-precursor/), [Cervical cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/cervical/), [HPV-associated vulvar squamous cell carcinoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/hpv-associated-vulvar-cancer/), [HPV-independent vulvar squamous cell carcinoma (p53-mutant)](https://onco.cc/cancers/hpv-independent-vulvar-cancer/), [Localised penile cancer (organ-confined, node-negative)](https://onco.cc/cancers/localised-penile-cancer/), [Vaginal cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/vaginal/), [Vaginal squamous cell carcinoma (HPV-associated)](https://onco.cc/cancers/vaginal-squamous-cell-carcinoma/)
- fronts: [Prevention & Risk](https://onco.cc/fronts/prevention/), [Surgery & Interventional](https://onco.cc/fronts/surgery/)
- technologies: [Cryoablation systems](https://onco.cc/technologies/cryoablation-systems/), [HPV DNA testing and self-sampling](https://onco.cc/technologies/hpv-testing/)
- terms: [Cervical precancer (CIN, HSIL/LSIL)](https://onco.cc/terms/cin-hsil/)
- ideas: [Intercept cancer at the field stage](https://onco.cc/ideas/idea-field-interception/), [Single-dose HPV vaccination plus HPV self-sampling to reach WHO elimination in low-income countries](https://onco.cc/ideas/idea-single-dose-hpv-self-sampling-elimination/)
- bottlenecks: [Most of the world has almost no cancer care](https://onco.cc/bottlenecks/b-global-access/), [Prevention we already have is not deployed](https://onco.cc/bottlenecks/b-prevention-adoption/)
- pathways: [Basement membrane & tissue barriers](https://onco.cc/pathways/basement-membrane-tissue-barriers/), [Field cancerisation](https://onco.cc/pathways/field-cancerisation/)
- drugs: [Aminolevulinic acid (topical, for photodynamic therapy)](https://onco.cc/drugs/aminolevulinic-acid/)
- roadmaps: [Cancer prevention roadmap: tobacco control and vaccines → biomarker-guided chemoprevention → interception in carriers](https://onco.cc/roadmaps/prevention-roadmap/), [Devices and physical therapies roadmap: heat and light → electric fields and focused sound → drug-releasing implants](https://onco.cc/roadmaps/devices-roadmap/), [Global access and affordability roadmap: essential medicines and generics → biosimilars and frugal trials → reliance, pooling and homegrown innovation](https://onco.cc/roadmaps/global-access-roadmap/)
- trials: [A Dose-escalation Clinical Study of Intraoperative Photodynamic Therapy of Glioblastoma](https://onco.cc/trials/nct05736406/), [Adjuvant Temozolomide ± 5-Aminolevulinic Acid + Low Intensity Diffuse Ultrasound Sonodynamic Therapy System for Newly Diagnosed Glioblastoma](https://onco.cc/trials/nct07225621/)

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