Dr. Moran on Techniques to Decrease Toxicities With Radiation in Breast Cancer

Meena Savur Moran, MD, radiation oncologist, professor, Therapeutic Radiology, director, Breast Cancer Radiotherapy Program, Yale Cancer Center, discusses some of the techniques that oncologists can use to decrease the toxicities associated with radiation therapy (RT) when treating patients with breast cancer.

According to Moran, toxicities associated with RT have been markedly improved, as there are several better techniques to reduce RT delivered to the heart and lungs. One such technique involves a "prone" positioning of the patient as they receive the treatment, in which she lays on her stomach and the breast hangs forward, allowing the physician to radiate only the breast and skim the chest wall.

Intensity modulated radiotherapy is another less toxic technique that allows the physician to decrease the hot spots within the breast by shaping the radiation beams to closely fit the area of the cancer.