In Spain around 25,000 new cases of breast cancer are diagnosed each year, according to figures from the Spanish Association Against Cancer. There are radiotherapy oncology treatments that can cure it and the IMOR Institute is one of the reference centers in this field. We spoke with Dr. Benjamín Guix, director of IMOR and professor of radiotherapy and physical medicine at the University of Barcelona, so that he could explain the advances in the oncological treatment of breast cancer.
1 in 8 women will have breast cancer during her lifetime…
Breast cancer is the most common tumor in women, there are many cases and this has allowed us to carry out studies on which treatments are most beneficial for each type of patient. We can now offer personalized treatments and adapt radiotherapy to each particular situation, depending on the characteristics of the patient and the tumor.
What are these treatments?
One of them is hypofractionated radiation, which reduces the entire treatment to 16 radiotherapy sessions, that is, about three and a half weeks. Up to now, about 35 sessions were needed. We complement it with an overimpression of the surgical bed, which is carried out with brachytherapy in a single session lasting a few hours.
What are the advantages?
The cure rate is very high, side effects are reduced, it is more comfortable for the patient because after each session she can go home, which improves her quality of life.
What other advanced treatments do you perform at IMOR?
In the case of postmenopausal women, with small tumors up to 1 cm in diameter, and which are not very aggressive, we can perform a partial irradiation of the breast. That is, after removing the tumor, we irradiate only the scar area with a small safety margin. This treatment is performed in only five sessions.
What is the percentage of cure I was talking about?
In both treatments, the published results show that 95% of the patients are healthy and have not suffered relapses of the disease ten years or more after treatment.
IMOR also uses intraoperative radiotherapy?
This is another great advance because it makes it possible to carry out the radiotherapy treatment at the same time as the operation to remove the tumor. It is more precise, since you irradiate less of the neighboring healthy tissues away from the tumor bed. This technique is also used to treat small lung tumors or prostate cancer.
What technology is used?
We use intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), which allows higher doses of irradiation to be applied in each fraction with fewer side effects because less healthy tissue is irradiated.
The reduction in side effects is good news for the patients….
Yes, they have less fatigue and less skin irritation. In addition, long-term consequences such as breast fibrosis or breast asymmetry are eliminated. These advances help patients live better and remember less that they ever had cancer.