title: Intraoperative radiotherapy for breast cancer: its perceived simplicity.
abstract: Over one-quarter of a million cases of breast cancer are diagnosed in the United States each year, many of which are early stage.The radiotherapeutic options after breast-conserving surgery in early-stage breast cancer are evolving quickly, with a focus on minimizing treatment volume, toxicity, and treatment duration. One such emerging option is intraoperative radiotherapy (IORT), administered either as a single fraction or as a boost.With many centers seeking to adopt such technology, there are licensing, proctoring, staffing, technical support, and reimbursement issues that need to be considered. We have reviewed the current international experience and describe one community cancer center's experience with initiating an IORT breast cancer program.
authors.affiliation: The Center for Cancer Prevention and Treatment, St. Joseph Hospital, Orange, California, USA.
authors.forename: Robert B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Ash
authors.forename: Venita L
authors.initials: VL
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: Lawrence D
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Wagman
authors.forename: Afshin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Forouzannia
mesh_terms: D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007432:Intraoperative Period