The use of high-powered radiation to destroy cancer cells or stop them from growing and multiplying is one of the major treatment approaches in the management of breast cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, or ACS, radiation therapy can be used as a follow-up to surgery in early stages of breast cancer, to kill any remaining cancerous tissue left behind or in later stages to slow the progress of the disease. There are several options in radiation treatment of breast cancer.
External Beam Radiation Therapy
In this type of radiation treatment, the source of radiation is placed outside the body and focused on the area of the cancer. According to the ACS, if preceded by surgery, radiation is started after the wound heals. The standard course is a daily dose for five days, Monday through Friday, every week, repeated weekly for six weeks.
Accelerated breast irradiation, in which larger daily doses of radiation are administered over a shorter period of three weeks, is available in cases where the standard course is inconvenient. This option is called hypofractionated radiation treatment. Other approaches to external beam radiation, three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy, or 3D-CRT, and Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy, or IMRT, use more specialized equipment to focus the beam of radiation and are able to shorten the course to two daily doses of radiation for just five days.
Intracavitary Brachytherapy
This is a form of internal radiation therapy, or brachytherapy, involving the use of a device called a balloon catheter to place a source of radiation in the space left behind after a lumpectomy. According to the ACS, the deflated balloon is inserted into the space, inflated with fluid and left in place for the duration of the treatment. Twice a day, a source of radiation is inserted into the catheter for some time and then removed. The duration of treatment is usually five days.
Interstitial Brachytherapy
Another form of internal radiation, interstitial brachytherapy involves the insertion of several tubes or catheters into the breast, in the area of the tumor, usually after a lumpectomy. Radioactive pellets or seeds are placed in the catheters for short periods of time. According to the American Society for Clinical Oncology, ASCO, this could vary from just one dose or a course of up to one week.
According to the ACS, either this approach or another one, called intracavitary brachytherapy, may be combined with external beam radiation to deliver an extra boost of radiation directly to the area of the tumor and possibly improve the outcome of radiation treatment.
