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Thermal ablation and cryotherapy for cervical precancer

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.

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.

Generic schematic · not to scale · placeholder for the surgery front
Patient-side cart · Wristed instrument arms · Target through 8 mm ports

How it works

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

Latest papers

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Latest papers · live from Europe PMC
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