Accelerated Partial Breast Irradiation (APBI): A New Type of Radiation Treatment

A new type of breast cancer radiation treatment, known as Accelerated Partial Breast Irradiation (APBI), has been developed for early-stage breast cancer patients. The new breast cancer radiation is shorter (1 week instead of 6) and is as effective as the standard breast cancer radiation treatment. The study was presented at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology's 50th Annual Meeting (Boston, Sept 22-25).

Peter Beitsch, M.D., surgical oncologist, Medical City Dallas Hospital (Dallas, TX), led the study in which radiation seed implants called balloon brachytherapy were used to develop this new breast cancer treatment. According to the author, APBI is better than traditional radiation therapy for a variety of reason. For example:

1) It is very effective in keeping breast cancer at bay (as effective as the 6-8 week traditional therapy).
2) It is faster thus more convenient for the patient.
3) It is cheaper, no long stays at hospital's nearby hotels, no more frequent long trips to the cancer radiation facility.
4) Since it is a shorter treatment there is more chance that women will go through than with traditional longer treatments.

Brachytherapy, the method developed in this study, is one of many available APBI procedures. APBI treats only the area around the tumor instead of the treating the whole breast as in the traditional radiation treatment.
The procedure consists in removing the tumor and after that inserting a small balloon into the tumor's cavity. The brachytherapy balloon is attached to a radiation source that sends high doses of radiation using small (tiny) radioactive seeds into the cavity.

With this new method many women are able to keep their breasts since the tumor is locally treated and in an effective way as the study has shown. This has many physical and psychological advantages when compared to women in which the breast has to be removed completely.

In this particular study, more than 400 women participated for 4 years. The study found that those women who were treated with APBI (using balloon brachytherapy) had equal probability of breast cancer reincidence than those women who participated in the study and had the traditional longer radiation treatment.

Accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) may have many advantages when compared to standard treatment. For one thing they are shorter, thus more convenient to the patient. New treatments such as this are certainly a benefit derived from health care technology.

Source:
Presentation:"Recurrence and Survival in the American Society of Breast Surgeons (ASBS) MammoSite RTS Registry Trial," Monday, September 22, 2008. American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology's 50th Annual Meeting (Boston, Sept 22-25)