New Treatment for Early-Stage Breast Cancer Patients
Rhode Island Hospital has a new treatment for women with early stage breast cancer. The Axxent Electronic Brachytherapy System uses a miniaturized linear accelerator to deliver a radiation-emitting seed, the size of a grain of rice, to the tumor to reduce disease recurrence.
Rhode Island Hospital is one of only three sites in the nation to offer the treatment. In fact, says David Wazer, MD, chief of radiation oncology at Rhode Island Hospital, “Rhode Island Hospital is considered one of the leading centers in the country in the development and clinical evaluation of a new radiation therapy technology.”
Before the advent of this new treatment, most women with early-stage breast cancer who had radiation treatment would have undergone whole breast radiation. Whole breast radiation allows for some degree of radiation scattering, which can have negative side effects. Electronic brachytherapy, says Wazer, “is very different than conventional brachytherapy because, instead of a radioactive source, the source of the Axxent system is actually a miniaturized X-ray tube. “That means that the source is not continually radioactive—it only emits radiation when it’s turned on. It gives us a different way to administer radiation therapy.”
 The new FDA-approved treatment offers a much shorter treatment time, only five days, as opposed to seven weeks with whole-breast radiation therapy. It also eliminates the use of radioactive isotopes. The anticipated results are less exposure to radiation, fewer side effects and better outcomes for patients.
Wazer says, “Our primary goal in the treatment of breast cancer is to cure the patient and, secondarily, to give patients the best cosmetic outcome that we can. We’ve come to appreciate that sometimes less treatment is better.”
The hospital is currently recruiting women diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer to participate in a trial to study the effectiveness of the new treatment method and to provide patient feedback. If you are interested or would like more information, please call the Rhode Island Hospital radiation oncology department at 401-444-8311.
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