Fortis Cancer Institute sets up first IORT system in State for radiation treatment

Bengaluru: Fortis Cancer Institute, Bannerghatta Road, has installed IORT (Intraoperative radiotherapy) system for the treatment of breast cancer. IORT is a single dose of radiation given to selected cancer patients (mostly at an early stage of cancer/low risk cancer) that reduces a 30-40 day radiation therapy to 30-40 minutes. The team of doctors led by Dr Sandeep Nayak, Director, Surgical Oncology and Dr Nisha Vishnu, Consultant, Radiation Oncology have already performed four IORT procedure on patients with early stage breast cancers between December 2021 and January 2022.

IORT is a radiation therapy technique in which a concentrated dose of radiation is delivered to a cancerous tumour site during surgery after the tumour is removed. After surgery, recovery is normal and there is no need for any additional external radiotherapy. This saves the patients the additional time, effort and side effects of 30-40 days of treatment.

Currently, IORT procedure is active only at selected centres in India among which Fortis Hospital, Bannerghatta Road has the only active IORT technology in Karnataka. Intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT) is an intensive radiation treatment which is administered during surgery and are more précised with reduced complications and course of treatment.

Dr Sandeep Nayak, says: "Breast cancer is the most common cancer in India as well as the world. Many patients opt for complete removal of breast even when lumpectomy is equally effective only to avoid a prolonged radiotherapy. The idea behind adopting IORT at our unit is to precisely treat these patients with a single effective dose of radiation which gets over in just 30 mins. Patient does not have to go through the usual long duration of radiation just to save breast.'

Dr Manish Mattoo, Zonal Director, Fortis Hospitals, said, "We are the only hospital in Karnataka to have the active IORT technology which has gained worldwide acceptance in modern cancer cure. In treatment of cancers early detection and treatment are most important - this state-of-the-art technology will further augment our mission to save more live by treating cancer effectively at an early stage at Fortis Cancer Institute."

Dr Nisha Vishnu explains, "IORT allows the radiation oncologists and surgeons to work together to deliver a full course of radiation treatment in one day. At the time of surgery, while the patient is under anesthesia, once the tumor has been surgically removed, the patient undergoes a single dose of targeted radiation delivered directly to the tumor bed. It uses a miniaturized x-ray source to deliver a precise, concentrated dose of radiation directly to the tumor site, while minimizing risk of damage to healthy tissue in nearby areas of the body."

As per National Cancer Registry Programme 2020, India's cancer burden could increase from 1.39 million to 1.57 million by 2025.