New breast cancer therapy developed

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Jan 30, 2007 (UPI via COMTEX) -- U.S. medical scientists say they used research initially intended for detecting ballistic missiles to develop a treatment for breast cancer.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology researcher Alan Fenn said treating cancer with heat is not a new idea, but "researchers were having trouble using it to treat tumors deep within the body." Further, he said it's difficult to deliver the heat only to cancer cells without overheating normal tissue.

The microwaves in Fenn's new technique heat and kill cells containing high amounts of water and ions, or electrically charged atoms. Cancer cells typically have a high content of both, while healthy breast tissue contains much less.

The outpatient procedure uses a single tiny needle probe to sense and measure parameters during treatment.

The treatment's first clinical study involved 75 patients with early-stage breast cancer. Of 34 patients who received the treatment prior to lumpectomy, none had viable cancer cells remaining at the surgical margins. Of the 41 patients undergoing a lumpectomy, but not the MIT treatment, four had cancer cells at the surgical margins.

The research is documented in Fenn's new book, "Breast Cancer Treatment by Focused Microwave Thermotherapy."

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Copyright 2007 by United Press International