OR Radiation for Breast Cancer

This method, known as intraoperative radiation treatment (IORT), initiates therapy at the time of surgery when residual tumor cells are most active.

Developed by Intraop Medical Corp. (Sunnyvale, CA, USA), the Mobetronis is a device that delivers intraoperative radiation therapy in a regular operating room (OR). IORT is believed to be an effective treatment to increase cancer survival rates because a single two-minute treatment can typically eliminate several weeks of traditional pre- or post-operative external beam radiation therapy.

Specialists at Intraop designed the first mobile device for delivering radiation in the operating room without the need for extensive radiation shielding. "There is a typical wait of four to six weeks after lumpectomy before the initiation of adjuvant radiation therapy. During this waiting period, there is ample opportunity for the microscopic tumor cells that remain in the breast cavity to reimplant and become viable or to disseminate elsewhere in the body, resulting in metastases,” said Don Goer, CEO, Intraop Medical.

IORT is being used for breast cancer in Europe where over 2,500 women have been treated, as well as in the United States. The Mayo Clinic (Scottsdale, AZ) and the University of North Carolina at (Chapel Hill, NC) are two of four U.S. medical centers that have started a breast cancer IORT program due in part to the promising early results in Europe.

The Mobetron is U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved in the United States and has received the equivalent foreign approvals. IORT could have a huge impact for many women who suffer from breast cancer, and provide them with hope for the future.



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