Can New Type of Radiotherapy Cut Treatment Time by 80%?

If you have or are at risk to breast cancer, one major wellness decision you have to make is whether or not you keep your breasts. Patients who choose to have them removed have been shown to reduce their risk of the disease spreading, but if you do opt to keep your breasts, you may qualify for a new treatment that cuts six weeks of radiotherapy down to just one single session of up to 40 minutes.

Unlike conventional radiotherapy, the new intra-operative radiotherapy does not involve the entire breast, but instead targets the tumour site after the tumour has been removed. The treatment is being offered at the National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS), and doctors there have commented that it may persuade more patients to choose to have their tumour excised (a lumpectomy) rather than a mastectomy, where the entire breast, including the tumour, is removed.

According to Dr Wong Fuh Yong, an NCCS consultant in the radiation oncology department, ‘These women choose a mastectomy because it’s simpler and faster. Despite an innate sadness over losing their breast, they choose convenience over bodily function. So we hope to make that choice easier.’ However, this choice will only be made easier for a small number of early-stage breast cancer patients. In order to qualify for the treatment, the diameter of your tumour must be smaller than 3cm, and the cancer should not have spread to your lymph nodes. You also need to be over the age of 50.

Surgical oncologist Ong Kong Wee added that your suitability for the procedure will also be determined by how aggressive your tumour is, and how well you respond to hormone treatment. However, Dr Ho Gay Hui, an NCCS senior consultant, commented that the good thing about this development in cancer treatment is that it, even if you don’t qualify, trying to find out if you do could also benefit your wellbeing. He said that as the treatment is known to be especially effective for women whose cancers are detected early, it ‘reinforces the need for regular screening… before the cancer gets out of hand.’