Women with early stage breast cancer increasingly choose breast conservation therapy (BCT). In the BCT option, the cancerous tumor is surgically removed in a procedure known as lumpectomy. To minimize the chances of the cancer recurrence, physicians recommend a course of follow-up treatments which always includes radiotherapy with or without chemotherapy and/or hormonal therapy.

Radiation therapy is used to effectively “sterilize” any residual cancerous or pre-cancerous microscopic tissue that may exist in the vicinity of the tumor. Radiation therapy is an indispensable part of the BCT procedure. Radiation of the breast tissue can be performed by different techniques.

The established standard-of-care for breast radiotherapy is whole breast irradiation (WBI). This is a procedure that is performed daily for a period of 6-7 weeks after surgery. An important part of the WBI process is the delivery of a higher localized dose, known as the “boost dose”, to the lumpectomy cavity margin – the most likely site for cancer recurrence. The AccuBoost Applicators allow your radiation oncologist to deliver a conformal, uniform radiation filed to the target tissue. At many treatment centers which use these Applicators, they refer to the treatment as “The AccuBoost Procedure” or “Non-Invasive, Image Guided Breast Brachytherapy,” or simply as “AccuBoost.”

The vital role of radiation therapy to maximize cancer-free survival for the women who choose breast conservation therapy (BCT), is well known. The most important step for early stage cancer patients who qualify for BCT is to seek the advice of their physicians to choose a radiation oncology center and radiation delivery system that are capable of targeting the dose consistently, reliably and reproducibly.

Image-Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT) is designed to take the guess work out of “daily patient positioning” and “dose targeting” for the boost phase of the procedure. By using real-time image guided radiation therapy, your clinician is able to use the AccuBoost Applicators to simply and accurately target the dose. Furthermore, by using the same platform for imaging (by IGRT) and applicator positioning and radiation delivery, your radiation oncologist targets the dose precisely to where it needs to go while it minimizes the side effects of radiation.