Breast cancer (BC) is the most common
cancer and one of the most important causes of death in women. Surgery is the standard
therapy for
breast cancer and in the last decades evolved towards a more conservative approach, with
lumpectomy, followed by
radiation therapy, the most common option. Unfortunately, up to 40% of women affected by BC will develop
metastases and will receive systemic
therapy, which improves survival and quality of life. Interventional oncology (IO), thanks to the improvement in technology and clinical experience, is gaining an important role in the field of
breast cancer, both in treating the primary tumour and also in
metastasis in well-selected cases. Percutaneous thermal ablation and more recently
cryoablation are reported to achieve promising results in the radical treatment of small
breast cancer, with optimal cosmetic outcome and a very high safety profile. Percutaneous ablation as well as intra-arterial
therapies, such as chemoembolization and radioembolization, might also be indicated in metastatic BC patients. In advanced stage
disease, breast cancer liver metastases (BCLM) represent the main factor affecting the overall survival. Metastatic
breast disease is a systemic disease, with tumour deposits potentially spread into different organs and tissues for which systemic
therapy is the standard approach. Local
therapies for liver
metastases might have an important role in improving survival and quality of life in well-selected patients. Clinical and technical indications with their limitations, results and potential complications in local IO treatment for BCLM, will be also described.