The Science Behind Cryotherapy

Cryotherapy is sometimes called cryosurgery or cryoablation. Regardless, it refers to the application of extreme cold to destroy diseased tissue, including cancer cells. Living tissue, healthy or diseased, cannot withstand extremely cold conditions. Tissue dies from several effects following cryotherapy:

• Ice within the cell
• Ice outside the cell
• Loss of blood supply

Once the cells are destroyed, components of the immune system—primarily the white blood cells—clear out the dead tissue. There is some evidence to suggest that this stimulates the immune system to attack remaining cancer cells after cryotherapy.