Physical Wellness

Breast Cancer Treatment Update: Laser A Better Alternative?

By Jenn Loro | Update Date: Dec 14, 2015 02:33 PM EST

Conventional breast cancer therapies are often an odd mix of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation which severely downgrade patients' quality of life. A recent treatment innovation, however, may change all that.

According to Health News, laser ablation is showing proofs of becoming a promising alternative to conventional early stage breast cancer treatments.

In a study led by Dr. Barbara Schwartzberg of Denver-based Sarah Cannon Research Institute at Rose Medical Center, the new technique entails putting small probes in the center of the cancer and then focusing laser beams to kill the tumors and nearby cancer cells.

Officially called Novilase Breast Therapy, results of the clinical trials yielded very positive results. As mentioned in a Business Wire article, 91% of the 60 patients were reportedly breast tumor-free when the technical procedures were followed accordingly.

How will this new treatment exactly benefit breast cancer patients?

"We saw multiple advantages of using laser therapy to not only destroy the cancer tumor, but to do so with only local anesthetic and less cosmetic damage than traditional lumpectomy," told Dr. Schwartzberg as quoted saying by Med City News.

She also stated that cancer patients can recover quickly without having the need for further invasive treatments like surgeries.

In the absence of better alternative until now, most patients were forced to choose among a plethora of treatment options that are either invasive or dangerous due to multiple side effects. For example, mastectomy involves the removal of breasts to contain the spread of cancer cells to other parts of the body. Another procedure called lumpectomy entails the partial removal of breast tissues coupled with radiation therapy.

However, the proponents of the study and other peer experts acknowledged that it still requires more thorough research to establish its strength.

"It's very promising, but it's not going to be for everybody," remarked Dr. Laura Kruper of City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center in California when asked to comment on the newly-developed treatment as quoted by WebMD.

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