|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
© Newswise.
|
|
Laser Lumpectomy Treats Breast Cancers Without Surgery
Media Contact: For release after 9:30 a.m. CST, Tuesday, Dec. 1, 1998 MR-GUIDED LASER LUMPECTOMY MAY TREAT BREAST CANCERS WITHOUT SURGERY CHICAGO -- A promising new therapy combining high tech imaging and lasers may enable doctors to destroy cancerous breast tumors without surgery, according to research presented here today at the 84th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America(RSNA). "It's early and more studies are necessary, but it is a very promising alternative for women who want to avoid disfiguring surgery," said Steven Harms, M.D., professor of radiology and director of imaging research, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences; and chief of radiology, Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System, Little Rock. "Because we don't make an incision, there is no scar and virtually no evidence of surgery." The interactive magnetic resonance (MR) imaging allows doctors to see the tumor as they treat the patient. Under interactive MR guidance, the physician places a needle in the tumor, and then advances a fiber optic wire through it. The fiber optic wire is used as a conduit to apply laser heat for about 10 minutes, in a technique called ablation. The tumor is heated and destroyed. "Prior to ablation, tumors look like bright stars in a dark sky," said Dr. Harms. "The laser heat spreads in a sphere and the image turns dark when the tumor is destroyed." In the study, all patients treated by laser lumpectomy were followed by conventional treatment; nine patients had lumpectomies and six had mastectomies. A total of 26 treatments were performed on the 15 patients. A pathological study of the laser lumpectomy zones confirmed all of the tissue identified by MR and targeted by laser was destroyed. "We can clearly see the edges of the tumor and make sure we get it all. Even surgeons often can't tell where the tumor ends, and have to go back and surgically remove more tissue," said Dr. Harms. "Our next step is to use laser lumpectomy with interactive MR as an alternative to surgical lumpectomy." Interactive MR imaging-guided laser lumpectomy is likely to be more cost effective than surgical lumpectomy, noted Dr. Harms. The procedure can be performed on an outpatient basis and the patient is given only a local anesthetic. After the procedure, the patient typically requires only a mild pain reliever. The interactive MR imaging used in the study is called RODEO MR (Rotating Delivery of Excitation Off-resonance). RODEO is a computer software adaptation of MR that helps accentuate the contrast of the breast tissue so it is plainly visible. Currently, it is only available for clinical trials at six institutions. Lasers have previously been used to treat liver tumors and head and neck tumors, which are easy to distinguish with standard MR or ultrasound imaging. Attempts to use lasers to ablate breast tumors under standard MR guidance have not been successful because physicians were unable to see exactly where the tumor ended, which is possible with interactive MR. Co-authors of a paper on the topic being presented by Dr. Harms are: Hamid Mumtaz, M.D.; V.S. Klimberg, M.D.; Christopher L. Cowan, M.D.; Sohelia Korourian, M.D.; and W. Brian Hyslop, M.D., Ph.D. The RSNA is an association of 30,000 radiologists and physicists in medicine dedicated to education and research in the science of radiology. The Society's headquarters are located at 820 Jorie Blvd., Oak Brook, Illinois 60523-2251. # # # Copies of 1998 RSNA news releases are available online at http://www.pcipr.com/rsna beginning Monday, Nov. 30.
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
