Ashikari Breast Center to participate in TARGiT intra-operative radiotherapy trial

Jun 11 2010

The Ashikari Breast Center at The Dobbs Ferry Pavilion of St. John's Riverside Hospital today announced its participation in two new groundbreaking studies that may alter the care for early breast cancer.

“Our main priority is to provide our patients with timely, compassionate and thorough breast cancer care. These major medical advancements look promising in helping to reduce both the physical and lifestyle impact that these treatments have on women's lives”

The Ashikari Breast Center is the only facility in the tri-state metro area to participate in the groundbreaking TARGiT intra-operative radiotherapy trial and it has the most experience, having worked with this technology since 2000.

The landmark TARGiT study found that a single dose of radiation, delivered directly to the site of the tumor right after a woman has a lumpectomy, was as effective as undergoing the six to seven weeks of daily radiation treatments that most women now endure. This technique also precisely targets the radiation to the area of concern, helping to avoid "geographic misses". It also involves a much smaller radiation dose, thereby reducing toxicity and eliminating certain side effects, such as cosmetic reactions.

The Center also participated in a second study that found certain women undergoing a lumpectomy may not need to remove their underarm lymph nodes, which can leave them with painfully swollen arms. Research found that when compared with not removing the nodes, the surgery did not prolong survival or prevent recurrence of the cancer.

The Center has also pioneered one of the most innovative surgical approaches for women at high-risk for breast cancer due to familial genetics. The surgical technique is a "one-step" breast reconstruction technique that preserves a woman's nipples during a mastectomy. This procedure eliminates the typical months of waiting for a second reconstructive surgery after mastectomy. It provides the most powerful risk-reduction strategy for high-risk patients, while at the same time achieving an extremely positive cosmetic result.

"Our main priority is to provide our patients with timely, compassionate and thorough breast cancer care. These major medical advancements look promising in helping to reduce both the physical and lifestyle impact that these treatments have on women's lives," said Andrew Ashikari, M.D., FACS, Ashikari Breast Center.

Women from nearly all 50 states have come to Dobbs Ferry, New York over the last 10 years to be treated by the doctors at the Ashikari Breast Center due to their expertise, superior outcomes, and highly personal and compassionate care. Click on this video link to hear some of their patients' personal stories. http://bit.ly/957zEs