CHICAGO AP Doctors hope they can soon destroy some cancerous breast tumors with lasers and high-tech imaging all without the scars that can come with surgery. The procedure which amounts to a nonsurgical breast lumpectomy was studied on 15 patients in the past year. One of them was Lena Hoffman 81 of Little Rock Arkansas. ``I cleaned house the next morning'' she said. Researchers said the procedure would be for cancer detected in the early and sometimes middle stages but not in advanced cases. Steven Harms professor of radiology and director of imaging research at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock was the lead researcher. He plans to present the findings Friday at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America in Chicago. ``It's early and more studies are necessary but it is a very promising alternative for women who want to avoid disfiguring surgery'' Harms said Monday. ``Because we don't make an incision there is no scar and virtually no evidence of surgery.'' Harms said the laser procedure can be done on an outpatient basis and requires minimal recovery time compared with more expensive and painful lumpectomies and mastectomies. The patients involved in the study later underwent either a mammogram or a lumpectomy. The laser-targeted cancerous tissue had been destroyed in all cases Harms said. A specialized interactive form of magnetic resonance imaging known as RODEO MR allowed doctors to see the tumors as they treated the patients. Under the procedure the doctor places a needle in the tumor and then advances a fiber optic wire through it. The wire is used to apply laser heat for about 10 minutes a process called ablation. The tumor is heated and destroyed. A physician not involved in the research Dr. David Kinne said the procedure sounded promising but was concerned with the small number of patients involved and the short follow-up time. Kinne professor of surgery and chief of breast services at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York also questioned how accurate RODEO MR would be in determining a tumor's size and other characteristics. And he wondered how doctors would determine the need for subsequent treatment such as chemotherapy. However all that ``doesn't mean it doesn't need to be explored'' Kinne said. Harms said doctors can tell from a biopsy what follow-up treatment is needed and said the RODEO MR is ``extremely accurate'' in determining a tumor's size. Hoffman was optimistic after her success with the procedure. ``I think it will encourage young women to come in and have their mammograms and their examinations if they have the assurance of not destroying the breast'' she said. APW19981201.0533.txt.body.html APW19981201.1064.txt.body.html