Other treatments
Cryotherapy is a treatment that uses extreme cold to destroy cancer cells. It is a treatment for some types of cancer and precancerous conditions.
You can have cryotherapy in different ways. How you have it depends on where the cancer is in your body.
Cryotherapy uses extreme cold to destroy cancer cells. It's also called cryosurgery or cryoablation. During cryotherapy treatment the doctor freezes the cancer cells to kill them.
For cancers on the skin, the doctors put liquid nitrogen on to the area of cancer.
For cancers inside the body, the doctor uses a small stick (probe) called a cryoprobe. The doctor inserts one or more cryoprobe next to or inside the abnormal cells or cancer. The cryoprobe is attached to a supply of argon gas which it uses to freeze the cancer cells.
Cryotherapy is a treatment for
abnormal cells on the cervix
basal cell skin cancer
Research has shown that cryotherapy is safe to use for some other types of cancer including:
kidney cancer
advanced lung cancer
liver cancer
We need more information about the long term outlook to find out if it is as good as other treatments.
You might also have cryotherapy for prostate cancer. This is only done at certain specialist centres or as part of a clinical trial.
You can have cryotherapy in different ways. How you have it depends on where the cancer is in your body.
You might have cryotherapy:
directly to your skin - to treat skin cancer
using a speculum to look inside the vagina - to treat abnormal cervical cells
through a flexible tube (a scope) - to treat cancers inside your body such as lung cancer
through the skin (percutaneous cryotherapy) - to treat cancers inside your body, such as kidney or prostate cancer
Your doctor or specialist nurse will talk to you beforehand. They will tell you how you will have treatment and exactly what it involves.
You usually have treatment at the hospital as an outpatient.
You might not need a local anaesthetic if the doctor is treating your skin or cervix. But you might have a local or general anaesthetic to treat lung, liver, kidney or prostate cancer.
For cancers inside your body, you might also have an ultrasound scan or CT scan. This is to find the exact position of the cancer.
You have the treatment at an outpatient appointment. Your appointment is with a skin specialist (dermatologist) or specialist GP. You don't need any special preparation before the treatment.
Your doctor sprays liquid nitrogen on to the area of cancer. Or they put it directly on to the area with a cotton swab. The liquid freezes the area. It turns white as it freezes. After a few minutes the liquid nitrogen dissolves and the area thaws.
A scab forms in the treatment area. Over the next month or so the scab falls off along with any dead cancer cells.
Read more about treatment for skin cancer
You usually have this treatment as an outpatient in the colposcopy unit at the hospital.
Your doctor or nurse specialist puts a speculum into your vagina to open it so they can see your cervix. They then insert the cryoprobe which contains liquid nitrogen.
The cryoprobe touches the abnormal areas of cervical tissue. The liquid nitrogen in the cryoprobe then freezes the cells. The treatment usually takes about 10 minutes.
Find out more about treatment for abnormal cervical cells
You have a bronchoscopy if you have cryotherapy for advanced lung cancer.
You will have a general anaesthetic. So you shouldn’t eat or drink anything for a few hours before the cryotherapy.
Your doctor uses a long, thin, flexible tube called a bronchoscope. They put this down your throat and into the airway. They pass the cryoprobe down through the bronchoscope.
The tip of the cryoprobe freezes part of the tumour. The doctor then allows the area to thaw and they move the probe a little.
Your doctor repeats this process until they have treated the whole area of cancer. They remove as much of the tissue as possible using forceps or the probe. Your doctor then removes the bronchoscope.
It takes about 30 minutes.
Read about cryotherapy and its side effects for advanced lung cancer
You might have cryotherapy through the skin. This is for cancers such as kidney cancer, liver cancer or prostate cancer. It is called percutaneous cryotherapy.
You can have the treatment under local or general anaesthetic. The surgeon or interventional radiologist might use an or to find the cancer.
For percutaneous cryotherapy, they make a tiny cut in the skin over the cancer. This allows them to insert a small needle probe into the cancer.
Or they might use keyhole surgery. Keyhole surgery uses smaller cuts than open surgery, but a larger cut than percutaneous cryotherapy. The doctor uses a camera (laparoscope) to see inside the body.
The doctor puts one or more cryoprobes through the cut into the cancer area. The argon gas in the cryoprobe freezes and destroys the cancer cells.
For prostate cancer, the doctor puts the probes into the skin of the perineum. This is the area of skin between your back passage and your testicles.
Read about cryotherapy and its side effects for prostate cancer
For kidney cancer, the doctor makes a small cut either in the skin on the side of your tummy (abdomen), or on your back. This depends on where the cancer is.
Cryotherapy is usually used to treat small, early stage kidney cancers that are less than 4cm across. The aim is to cure the cancer without having to remove part or all of the kidney.
Read about cryotherapy and its side effects for kidney cancer
The possible side effects depend on the area of your body that you're having treatment to.
Before you agree to treatment your doctor will talk to you about the possible risks. People usually recover within a few days and have very few side effects.
Side effects in the treatment area can include:
pain
swelling and redness
blistering
infection, although this is uncommon
Rare and longer term side effects might include scarring and numbness in the area. The skin colour may become lighter or darker in the treated area.
Side effects might include:
period like pain during and for a short time afterwards
light vaginal bleeding which can last for up to 4 weeks
General side effects of cryotherapy inside the body can include:
pain and discomfort in the treatment area which should settle within a few days
bleeding from the treatment area - the nurse checks your blood pressure, pulse and wound
damage by freezing normal tissue close to the treatment area - your doctor will try to avoid this as much as they can
You can read more about side effects of cryotherapy to different parts of the body. There are links above to information about lung, prostate and kidney cancer.
Last reviewed: 11 Feb 2025
Next review due: 11 Feb 2028
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