QF Focus Magazine


Page 13


The Hospital Quirónsalud Torrevieja presents the treatment of cancer with intraoperative radiotherapy in the operating room


Thanks to the 'one step', for early breast cancer, the excision, irradiation and reconstruction of the affected breast is carried out in one surgical procedure. The hospital is a pioneer in Spain in the incorporation of Mobetron, the mobile electron


accelerator in the operating room. Treatment in patients with early breast cancer, called 'one step' therapy, allows surgical removal of the tumour, irradiation and oncoplastic reconstruction of the breast, reducing or avoiding external radiation therapy sessions. Dr. Rosa María Cañón, responsible for the Radiation Oncology Unit of the Oncology Platform of the Hospital Quirónsalud Torrevieja, explains that "the procedure in the operating room of the irradiation lasts 30 minutes, which avoids the 25 or 30 sessions of external irradiation of the conventional treatments". RIO is a high-precision technique in which a single and elevated fraction of radiotherapy is administered to the tumour bed, during a surgical procedure, with the advantage of direct visualisation of the bed to be irradiated, avoiding the unnecessary irradiation of healthy tissues in surrounding areas. RIO has been used in the treatment of different malignant tumours, such as gastric, pancreatic, rectal, lung, gynecological, retroperitoneal and limb sarcomas, usually in programs that associate external irradiation, to increase local control of the illness. Special application is in the treatment and cure of breast cancer, when indicated by the specialist. According to Dr. Cannon, "the main drawbacks in the past have been the transferring of the patient from the operating room to the treatment bunker, a problem that has now been solved by the development of small electron accelerators that are located in the operating room. This avoids the risks of such transfer, shortens the time of the procedure and increases the quality of life of patients. The RIO with Mobetron allows the treatment of a great variety of tumours with the aid of a multidisciplinary team. The Mobetron (the only one in Spain) is a mobile electron accelerator, located in the operating room, whose technology, according to Dr. Cañón, allows the team to administer treatment to different tissues, thicknesses and volumetric cavities, that is to say, to a great variety of tumours and locations, not only to patients with breast cancer. The treatment is carried out through collaboration with the other departments involved (surgeons, anesthesiologists, gynecologists, pathologists, medical oncologists, etc.) who work in a coordinated multidisciplinary program. In the treatment of patients with breast cancer, it provides a great benefit in quality of life, since it shortens or avoids the days of posterior external irradiation, decreases the side effects and, in the cases of 'one step', allows the immediate breast reconstruction. The RIO treatment is integrated in the current multidisciplinary cancer treatment programs, which aim is to increase the cure rate of patients. The presentation of this advanced treatment, which does not require the patient to be transported from the operating room, was Friday 17th February at the facilities of the Quirónsalud Group hospital in Torrevieja, with the assistance of Dr. Cañón, who offered all explanations and details.


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