New procedure used for breast cancer surgery

Sep 8 2009

Breast cancer surgeons and radiation oncologists at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange performed a new procedure combining removal of a patient’s breast tumor with the power of electron beam radiation in the operating room. Studies have determined that radiating the tumor site in the breast following surgery reduces the risk of the cancer returning. Traditionally, after surgical removal of the breast cancer, many patients undergo radiation therapy for about six weeks followed by an additional five days of focused radiation treatment, called a “boost.”

It is the first time on the West Coast that electron beam radiation treatment was used as an electron boost during breast cancer surgery. This procedure, known as intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT), was delivered with the FDA-approved device, the Mobetron^®.

“We are extremely excited to see St. Joseph’s begin treating breast cancer with the Mobetron^®,” noted John Powers, CEO of IntraOp Medical, manufacturer of the Mobetron^®. “By being the first hospital on the West Coast to offer an IORT approach to boost treatment, St. Joseph’s has clearly illustrated its commitment to delivering the best available therapy to their patients.”

“Delivering radiation at the same time the cancerous tumor is removed allows us to visualize the exact area we need to radiate and destroy any residual tumor cells while they are most vulnerable,” said Afshin Forouzannia, M.D., radiation oncologist, St. Joseph Hospital. This also results in substantially less radiation affecting the healthy tissue of the breast and skin.

By harnessing the power of Mobetron’s^® therapeutic electron beam during surgery, doctors can decrease the number of radiation treatments a patient would typically undergo following surgery. “Our hope with this new technology is to reduce the breast cancer patient’s overall treatment time while improving the outcome,” said Jay K. Harness, M.D., a breast cancer surgeon at St. Joseph Hospital and a former president of the American Society of Breast Surgeons. “I am excited about the future of this technology as we begin to expand its use in breast cancer patients as well as other cancers in the future.”