Virginia Mason, in Seattle, Washington, is the first medical center in Washington state to offer intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT) to treat women with early stage breast cancer.
Radiation therapy helps prevent breast cancer recurrence by eliminating microscopic cancer cells following surgery. Standard radiation therapy requires daily treatment to the whole breast for three to six weeks. Even newer partial-breast irradiation techniques require 10 treatments over five days.
IORT is a much faster, more localized method of radiation treatment is available for patients following lumpectomy for breast cancer. IORT is a one-time treatment administered into the tumor bed at the time of breast surgery.
With IORT, a radiation oncologist and physicist work with the breast surgeon to deliver an effective dose of radiation in a single session. Immediately after removing the tumor, the radiation oncologist delivers a highly localized dose of radiation to the tumor site.
IORT's benefits include:
Potential candidates for breast IORT are women aged 45 or older with a new diagnosis of early-stage breast cancer who are planning to undergo lumpectomy.
Since IORT is a new technique used to treat breast cancer, Virginia Mason only offers this treatment as part of a clinical study to patients who meet study eligibility criteria. We monitor patients over time to determine the treatment’s effectiveness.
For more information or to discuss if you may be a candidate for IORT, contact one of our Breast Cancer Nurse Coordinators at (206) 223-8862.