Trial of one-dose radiation therapy for breast cancer
20 May 2007 Doctors at four UK hospitals are conducting a trial of a
technique to reduce radiotherapy treatment for breast cancer from several
weeks to one 30-minute session during surgery. The trial of the
intraoperative radiation involves three London hospitals, University College
London Hospitals (UCLH), Guy's and the Royal Free, and Ninewells Hospital in
Dundee. The trial will involve 800 women volunteers and is expected to take
two years to obtain results. The technique was described in a thesis by
Jayant Shayad Vaidya, a student at UCLH, in 2001, and now Senior Lecturer
and Consultant Surgeon at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee.
The technique employs a miniature electron beam-driven x-ray source that delivers low
energy x-ray radiation directly to the tumour site through a thin tube with
a sphere on the end. Depending upon the size of the surgical cavity, various
sizes of spheres are available and for each size, the radiation received is
proportional to the time the machine is switched on and left in situ. The
precise dose rate depends on the diameter of the applicator and the energy
of the beam, both of which may be varied to optimise the radiation
treatment. The radiation is quickly absorbed within the tissues, which
reduces the damage to surrounding normal tissues and minimises the need for
radiation protection to the operating personnel. If the technique is
successful it could completely remove the need for radiotherapy after breast
cancer surgery, thereby cutting the workload of radiotherapy departments.
The thesis is available at:
www.personal.dundee.ac.uk/~jsvaidya/papers/thesis.pdf
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