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by Margaret Chiffriller
A non-surgical lumpectomy procedure is being developed at UC Davis Cancer
Center. Instead of cutting out a tumor, the experimental technique uses radio
wave energy to kill cancer cells in the breast.
Although it is experimental in breast cancer treatments, the technique is not
new. Radio wave therapy, or radiofrequency ablation, has been used for years in
the treatment of liver and bone cancers. Researchers are also studying the
therapy as a treatment for lung and prostate cancers.
Radio wave therapy has shown favorable results in trials with breast cancer
patients at Stanford University, the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer
Center in Houston, and the Weill Cornell Breast Center in New York.
A study published in the July, 2001, issue of Radiology, reported on 24 breast
cancer patients with liver metastases who were treated with radio frequency
ablation. Single lesions were treated in 16 patients, and multiple lesions were
treated in 8 patients. Complete necrosis was achieved in 92% of the liver
lesions. New metastases developed in 58 per cent of the patients during
follow-up. The remaining 42% of patients developed no new metastases.
Vijay Khatri, assistant professor of surgery at UC Davis Cancer Center, John
McGahan, professor of radiology, and Bijan Bijan, assistant professor of
radiology, are leading a pilot study to evaluate the technique's effectiveness
in Stage 1 breast cancer tumors. The investigators are ready to enroll about 30
Sacramento-area women with very small, early stage breast tumors in the study.
To perform radiofrequency ablation, doctors first locate the tumor using
ultrasound. Next a thin metal probe is introduced into the tumor through the
skin. Tiny wires at the tip of the probe vibrate, generating a frictional heat
that kills all of the cells touched by the probe. Patients walk away after the
procedure with only a tiny cut visible on the skin. The dead cancer cells from
the tumor eventually form a scar inside the breast.
Because the technique is experimental, all of the women will undergo a
conventional lumpectomy or mastectomy following the radio wave treatment. After
this conventional surgery, researchers will carefully examine the excised breast
tissue to confirm that all cancer was eradicated by the radio wave treatment.
If the pilot trial finds radio wave treatment to be effective in killing the
tumor cells, the technique could offer advantages over lumpectomy. "There are
two potential advantages of the new technique," Khatri said. "First, you don't
have to make a big incision. Second, you kill only the tumor and a very thin
layer of tissue surrounding it. In a lumpectomy, you take out much more tissue.
So the cosmetic results should be much better."
Khatri, McGahan and Bijan received a $90,000 grant from the UC Davis Health
System to carry out the study.
Other breast cancer research currently underway at UC Davis Cancer Center
includes:
*a trial of a minimally invasive probe that uses light and electrical current to
immediately assess malignancy in suspicious breast lesions, potentially
eliminating the need for biopsy;
*a digital mammography trial, comparing the accuracy of digital to standard film
mammography;
*and a sentinel node biopsy study that explores the safety and effectiveness of
removing only one lymph node for biopsy in women with breast cancer. Standard
practice has been to remove a dozen or more lymph nodes to determine if cancer
has spread.
UC Davis Cancer Center, a program of the University of California, Davis, is a
nationally recognized research and treatment center at the front line of the war
against cancer. With more than 209 scientists engaged in cancer research and
treatment and more than $32 million in cancer research funding, the center is
able to offer patients the most advanced therapies--and consequently the
greatest hope for recovery.
Source :
http://www.a-zbreastcancer.com/articles/aRadioWaves.htm