The clinical results presented for IORT treatment are taken from data published in medical journals or presented at medical and scientific meetings. IORT is always given as part of a comprehensive treatment approach that may also involve additional pre-operative or post-operative radiation therapy or chemotherapy. The appropriate additional therapy that might be required depends on the stage and extent of the disease and is a medical decision that should be made in consultation with a physician.

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IORT--- in combination with breast-conserving surgery and conventional external beam radiation therapy---can be an important treatment option for early stage breast cancer patients. In a pilot study, the Medical College of Ohio and the Centre Regional de Lutte Contre le Cancer in Montpellier, France treated 72 women between the ages of 33 and 81. The patients have been followed for up to 14 years with a median follow-up period of 7 years. The staging of the patients in this study is shown in Chart 1 and the local control and disease free survival in Chart 2. The cosmesis has been excellent.

Compared to conventional breast conserving therapy, the use of IORT has the following advantages:

• Results in a shorter overall treatment course (by about two weeks because the boost dose is given at the time of the lumpectomy.)
• Provides a higher dose to the tumor bed
• Decreases the dose to the skin and lung
• Avoids the possibility of missing the tumor area because the boost is given intraoperatively and the tumor area is visible.

Stage I 43.1%   |   Stage IIA 44.4%    |   Stage IIB 12.5%

Local Control 100%   |   Disease Free Survival 98.6%

"Intraoperative Radiation, Techniques and Results",1999, p. 521-526