New Breast Cancer Treatment: Mammosite Radiation Therapy After Lumpectomy

Treatment for breast cancer depends on the diagnosis. A lumpectomy surgical procedure involves removing part of the breast, including some of the normal tissue that surrounds it. The procedure is called breast conservation therapy (BCT). There is also a mastectomy, which removes the entire breast, and a quadrantectomy, in which a quarter of the breast will be removed. After a lumpectomy, most women undergo five to seven weeks of radiation therapy to ensure all remaining cancer cells are eliminated. A new treatment of radiation therapy after a lumpectomy is Mammosite Radiation Therapy, where only a small portion of the breast receives radiation, instead of the entire area (or breast).

How Mammosite Radiation Therapy Works

During the procedure, a balloon enters the cavity where the breast cancer is located. The balloon is inflated to variable sizes to accommodate any size cavity. Then the radiation therapy is inserted through the balloon, delivering a prescribed dose of radiation. Afterwards, the balloon is deflated and the catheter is removed. Mammosite treatment is a modification of brachytherapy (surgically implanting 14 to 24 radiation catheters into the breast). Since 2002, thousands of women have benefited from this type of radiation therapy.

Requirements to Qualify for Mammosite Radiation Therapy

This therapy is open to women undergoing a lumpectomy, women who have no positive lymph node intrusion, women over the age of 45 years old, and patients with a tumor that must be less than three centimeters in diameter.

Benefits of Mammosite Radiation Therapy

The procedure is performed during on outpatient basis and completed within five days, compared to seven weeks for standard radiation treatment after a lumpectomy and a reduction of eighty-five percent radiation. The radiation is delivered directly to the area where the cancer is most likely to recur, not effecting surrounding cells. Less exposure to radiation means fewer side effects. A previous clinical study found that eighty-eight percent of patients shown cosmetic results to be good / excellent.

Dr. Julia White, MD, Professor of Radiation Oncology at Medical College of Wisconsin said, "We hope that Mammosite's accelerated treatment time will make breast conserving treatment an option for many women. Traditional whole breast external beam radiation, which usually follows a lumpectomy, takes up to 7 weeks. Most patients from rural areas now opt to remove the breast because they live too far from the treatment center to complete radiation therapy. The treatment duration is also an issue for elderly patients, those who work full -- time, and for other patients who just want to put the cancer behind them."

The Anatomy of the Breast

The breast is comprised of fat, glands, blood vessels, connective tissue, and lymph vessels, which carry lymph fluid that contains immune systems cells and waste products. Most lymph vessels of the breast lead to lymph nodes under the arm. The breast has several lobes, which are divided into lobules and end in the milk glands. Tiny ducts run from the many tiny glands, connect together, and end in the nipple.

An Overview of Breast Cancer

Since 1990, according to the American Cancer Society detection, treatment of breast cancer continues to decline in mortality rate. Breast cancer is malignant (cancerous) tumor that starts from cells of the breast. This type of cancer mostly occurs in women (One percent breast cancers occur in men), and prominently more likely develop or diagnosed, as woman gets older, starting at average age of thirty. Women sixty years old have a one in thirty chance of developing breast cancer in the next ten years. Definitely direct correlation or heredity history for developing breast cancer in many cases. Higher risk developing breast cancer, for women who have not had children and women who had their first child after the age of 30. A study done at University of California - San Francisco found that pre-menopausal women who were exposed to secondhand smoke have a seventy percent increase risk for developing breast cancer. Most breast lumps found through self-examination or by routine checkup are not diagnosed (physician or doctor) to be cancerous (Benign). A Mammogram (x-ray) recommended for screening to find early breast cancer. However, biopsy provides most definite results and disproves any false positive mammogram results. Other types of tests include ultrasound (evaluation of a breast lump), and MRI (provides a better visualized picture than a mammogram). In the United States, women breast cancer is the second cause of cancer death, behind lung cancer.

Breast Cancer Evaluation

Infiltrating ductal cancer occurs eighty percent in the ducks of the breast. Ten to fifteen percent infiltrating lobular cancer occurs in the lobules. Other types of breast cancer: Paget's disease (Uncommon type of breast cancer forms in and around the nipple) and inflammatory breast cancer (IBC - Rare type of breast cancer (about 1- 4%). Symptoms include: Appearance of large lump in the breast, itching or pain in the breast. Nipple appears flattened or inverted, possible with a discharge. Swollen lymph nodes under the arm or above the collarbone.) Studies have shown, forty percent survival five years after the diagnosis of inflammatory breast cancer. IBC has been diagnosed in girls young as twelve years old and two-thirds of patients are post - menopausal. Most serious or deadly is metastatic cancer (Spread from the origin into other tissues) of the breast, which lead into the lymph nodes under the arm or above the collarbone on the same side of the cancer. Breast cancer is staged (diagnosis) from zero to five (Least favorable outcome for breast cancer,) or early, invasive and metastatic.