IORT reduces radiation treatment times

Intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT) will reduce 3-6 weeks radiation treatment to 30 minutes. The increased use of breast screening has resulted in breast cancer being increasingly diagnosed at early stages. IORT is an innovative treatment option for early-stage breast cancer. It involves placing a device that delivers radiotherapy inside the body during surgery. The machine reduces 3-6 weeks of radiation for breast cancer patients to less than 30 minutes. This type of radiotherapy reduces the chance of local recurrence after breast conserving surgery for breast cancer. It is a relatively new technology that uses a single dose given at the time of surgery during the same anaesthetic. Radiation is delivered locally to the tumour bed with minimum exposure and damage to other tissues nearby. The advantages of this machine are:

• Single treatment given at the time of surgery
• Improved patience compliance
• Other treatments such as chemotherapy can start sooner
• Direct visualisation of the target region at surgery ensures accuracy of this very conformal treatment with fewer side effects.