Study Update Affirms Success of IOERT for Breast Cancer Patients

According to a report from Breast Center Salzburg published in the International Journal of Cancer, radiation administered during surgery, directly at the site of the excised tumor, greatly reduces the incidence of ipsilateral (same side) breast tumor recurrence. The findings were delivered by Dr. Felix Sedlmayer, chairman of Radiation Oncology at the University of Salzburg, on Oct. 8 at a special meeting of the European Chapter of the International Society of IORT.
The study compared 190 women who received Intraoperative Electron Radiation Therapy (IOERT) during lumpectomy followed by whole-breast radiation, with the 188 previously treated women who received lumpectomy alone, followed by whole-breast radiation using an externally applied electron beam boost to the tumor bed. After a median follow-up period of 51 months, no local tumor recurrence occurred in the IOERT group; after a median follow-up period of 81 months, 6.4% of the other group had experienced local breast cancer recurrences.
A reduction or even a long delay in local tumor regrowth strongly predicts better long-term survival rates, according to the report. Previous studies have shown that patients who develop local recurrences within two years fare much worse than those who develop such recurrences after more than five years.