Intraoperative radiation therapy

Intraoperative radiation therapy, or IORT is the application of therapeutic levels of radiation to the tumor bed while the area is exposed during surgery. IORT is typically a component in the multidisciplinary treatment of locally advanced and recurrent cancer, in combination with external beam radiation, surgery and chemotherapy. As a growing trend in recent years, IORT can also be used in earlier stage cancers such as prostate and breast cancer.

Applications

The goal of IORT is to improve local tumor control and survival rates for patients with different types of cancer. Targeted intraoperative radiotherapy is a technique developed since 1998 for treatment of the tumour bed after wide local excision (lumpectomy) of breast cancer. The 5-year results of the TARGIT-A trial, which recruited 3451 patients, were presented at 2012 San Antonio Breast Cancer Conference and show that giving TARGIT at the time of lumpectomy in ER+ PR+ patients, aged 45 years and over, gives results similar to whole breast radiotherapy in terms of local cancer control, with fewer non-breast cancer deaths and a trend for lower overall mortality. 2012 SABCS, Thursday 6 December, General Session 4. These 5-year results equivalent to several weeks of whole breast radiation therapy, were published in the Lancet