Targeted radiation of breast cancer reduces treatment time from six and a half weeks to five days, while reducing pain and improving cosmetic outcome, according to a study presented at the RSNA meeting.
Brachytherapy is particularly useful for breast cancer patients who have undergone breast augmentation. It targets cancer using radioactive "seeds" placed with catheters under CT guidance. The seeds emit high doses of radiation in a localized area, avoiding any contact with or effect on the breast implant.
"Brachytherapy treats only the cancerous portion of the breast," said Dr. Robert R. Kuske Jr., a clinical professor of radiation oncology at the University of Arizona Health Sciences Center and developer of the treatment. "It offers augmented woman with early-stage breast cancer a potential major improvement in outcomes over mastectomy especially, but also over traditional whole-breast radiation."
Since the radiation works from the inside out, brachytherapy lasts only five days as opposed to the six and a half weeks of whole-breast radiation.
Whole-breast radiation, the current method, can also cause scar tissue to wrap around breast implants, hardening them and causing extreme pain. The condition, known as capsular contraction, also distorts the appearance of the breast. It occurs in over half of whole-breast radiation patients.
The alternative, and the most common treatment for breast cancer patients who have had breast augmentations, is mastectomy. But for patients concerned with cosmesis, this is not a preferable option.
By localizing the radiation, Kuske was able to successfully eliminate capsular contraction in all 65 of the women treated in his study. Follow-up ranging from six months to five years, has found no breast or regional lymphatic recurrences to date.
The only limitation for this treatment is that the cancer must be caught at an early stage, Kuske said. Women with four or more positive lymph nodes or a tumor larger than 3 cm would not be good candidates for image-guided brachytherapy. Otherwise, his study shows the treatment to be quite effective.
"And the cosmetic results have been superb," he said.
Cosmetic outcome was determined to be good to excellent in 100% of patients in Kuske's study, with 95% judged excellent. Not a single patient suffered capsular contraction.
"This is the ultimate informal targeted delivery of radiation therapy, without exposing wide swaths of tissue to radiation exposure," Kuske said.
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DiagnosticImaging.com. Brachytherapy improves cancer treatment in augmented breasts
By Christiana Schmitz |
December 1, 2008
RSNA 2008 December 1
Elastography breaks new ground in musculoskeletal imaging
December 1, 2008 Researchers from Egypt and Austria are taking a leap of faith to evaluate several possible ultrasound elastography applications in musculoskeletal radiology. Everyone from weekend warriors to elite athletes may benefit if the test is proven effective, according to papers released Monday at the RSNA meeting. Autistic children demonstrate measurable sound processing delays
December 1, 2008 Magnetoencephalography technology used to study abnormalities in auditory and language processing of autistic children has demonstrated measurable delays, according to a study presented at the RSNA meeting. MRA explains benefits of exercise for aging adults
December 1, 2008 Doctors have known for years that aerobic exercise counteracts the effects of aging on the human brain. Findings presented at the RSNA meeting contributed to an explanation of why. Thin-slice CT tags subsegmental pulmonary emboli in oncology patients
December 1, 2008 Oncology patients have a fourfold risk above the general population of developing pulmonary embolism. If the patient is receiving chemotherapy, the risk is even greater. Irish radiologists have found that imaging these patients with thin-slice CT during routine staging or restaging can pinpoint clinically unsuspected pulmonary embolism. Brachytherapy improves cancer treatment in augmented breasts
December 1, 2008 Targeted radiation of breast cancer reduces treatment time from six and a half weeks to five days, while reducing pain and improving cosmetic outcome, according to a study presented at the RSNA meeting. Older radiologists read more mammograms than younger generation
December 1, 2008 In Pennsylvania, radiologists 65 and older read significantly more mammograms than any other group, according to an American College of Radiology patterns-of-care study. Sony shows mammo printer
December 1, 2008 Sony has unveiled at RSNA 2008 a printer designed specifically for digital mammography. GE, Philips fuse ultrasound data with CT and MR
December 1, 2008 Interventional guidance is getting a boost at RSNA 2008 through a novel ultrasound system developed by GE Healthcare and a partnership between Philips Ultrasound and interventional workstation developer Traxtal. Younger ER pulmonary embolism patients could avoid radiation risk
December 1, 2008 More stringent criteria to evaluate emergency room patients under 40 years of age with suspected pulmonary embolism could decrease radiation exposure while also saving time and money, according to research presented at the RSNA meeting. Trial finds digital mammography performs better than film
December 1, 2008 Digital mammography is more accurate than film for diagnosis of breast cancer in women with dense breasts, according to results from the Digital Mammographic Imaging Screening Trial presented at the RSNA meeting. |
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