Radiation-Surgery Combo Offers 1-Step Breast Cancer Treatment
A new way to treat breast cancer is being done at Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH).
The procedure is called intraoperative radiation therapy wherein a one-time dose of radiation is delivered during surgery and takes less than an hour and eliminates the need for further radiation treatments.
Using a probe attached to the portable intrabeam radiotherapy machine, a single, concentrated dose is inserted directly into the affected area inside the breast during surgery.
The one-time dose is “biologically equivalent” to conventional radiation treatments for breast cancer that typically require, on average, a minimum of 16 treatments over three weeks.
According to lead surgeon Dr. David McCready, who also heads the PMH Breast Cancer Program:
“The potential benefits to patients are huge. Treating the specific area of cancer with this kind of precision protects the skin, heart and lungs from unnecessary radiation, minimizes side effects, and saves the patient a lot of time.”
The PMH team conducted the first procedure on May 17, 2007 and since then has treated two more patients. The team will then join a randomized clinical trial to further study the results of using this procedure.
Find more details from the full report.
Tags: breast-cancer-surgery, intraoperative-radiation-therapy, radiation-tehrapyRelated Stories
POSTED IN: on breast cancer, on cancer diagnostics
1 opinion for Radiation-Surgery Combo Offers 1-Step Breast Cancer Treatment
Sister Study
Jun 26, 2007 at 10:57 pm
How would you like to make a difference in breast cancer research? The Sister Study needs your help to determine if breast cancer is caused by something women come in contact with at work, at home, in their communities or in the personal products they use.
The Sister Study is looking for 50,000 women to help discover the environmental and genetic causes of the disease. Women ages 35 to 74 are eligible to join if their sister (living or deceased), related to them by blood, had breast cancer; they have never had breast cancer themselves; and they live in the United States or Puerto Rico.
ENROLL TODAY or simply help spread the word to women in your community! Either way, you can help find the causes of breast cancer!!
For more information visit http://www.sisterstudy.org or http://www.estudiodehermanas.org. Call toll-free 1-877-4SISTER. Deaf/Hard of Hearing call 1-866-TTY-4SIS.
Have an opinion? Leave a comment: