Results of a long-term clinical study conducted in Salzburg, Austria,bolsters support for a promising change in radiation therapy for breast cancer patients. According to a report published in the International Journal of Cancer, radiation administered during surgery, directly at the site of the excised tumor, greatly reduces the incidence of ipsilateral (same side) breast tumor recurrence. The findings were delivered by Dr. Felix Sedlmayer, chairman of radiation oncology at the University of Salzberg, at a special meeting of the European Chapter of the International Society of IOERT.

The study compared 190 women who received IOERT during lumpectomy followed by whole-breast radiation, with the 188 previously treated women who received lumpectomy alone, followed by whole-breast radiation using an externally applied electron beam boost to the tumor bed. After a median follow-up period of 51 months, no local tumor recurrence occurred in the IOERT group; after a median follow-up period of 81 months, 6.4 percent of the other group had experienced local breast cancer recurrences.

A subsequent study conducted by Dr. Sedlmayer involved 541 breast cancer patients that were advised to have breast conserving therapy. As of March2004, 541 patients received IOERT during surgery. Ranging in ages from 23 to 89, with a median age of 50.4 years, only one patient had an in-breast recurrence after 36 months. This recurrence was due to a previously unidentified tumor and not at the original tumor site. Dr. Sedlmayer was able to achieve 100 percent local tumor control and an overall survival rate of 92.1 percent for his patients after five years.

Sunnyvale-based IntraOp Medical has developed the first fully mobile, self-shielding intraoperative radiation therapy. The Mobetron delivers the same electron-based radiation therapy administered in dedicated, shielded operating rooms, without needing to move the patient or make structural changes to surgery suites. To date, Mobetrons have been deployed in university research centers, including UCSF and soon Stanford University, and specialized cancer clinics in North America, Europe and Asia.

Posted on November 18, 2006 08:51 PM