Karnataka’s first IORT system for breast cancer treatment installed at Fortis

IORT is a radiation therapy technique in which a concentrated dose of radiation is delivered to a cancerous tumour site during surgery after the tumour is removed. After surgery, recovery is normal and there is no need for any additional external radiotherapy. This saves the patients the additional time, effort and side effects of 30-40 days of treatment. IORT is an intensive radiation treatment which is administered during surgery and is said to be more précised with reduced complications and course of treatment.

Dr Nayak explained, “Breast cancer is the most common cancer in India as well as the world. Many patients opt for complete removal of breast even when lumpectomy is equally effective only to avoid a prolonged radiotherapy. The idea behind adopting IORT at our unit is to precisely treat these patients with a single effective dose of radiation which gets over in just 30 mins. Patient does not have to go through the usual long duration of radiation just to save the breast.”

Dr Vishnu said, “IORT allows the radiation oncologists and surgeons to work together to deliver a full course of radiation treatment in one day. At the time of surgery, while the patient is under anesthesia, once the tumor has been surgically removed, the patient undergoes a single dose of targeted radiation delivered directly to the tumor bed. It uses a miniaturized x-ray source to deliver a precise, concentrated dose of radiation directly to the tumor site, while minimizing risk of damage to healthy tissue in nearby areas of the body.”