A March study in the New England Journal of Medicine has shown that radiation therapy used to treat breast cancer can cause long-term cardiovascular damage and increase a patient’s chance of heart attack. To combat these side effects to treatment, doctors in the University Hospital’s Moser Radiation Therapy Center offer a safer radiation therapy technique for breast cancer patients that limits damage to the heart.
A breath-holding technique that has been employed at the Moser Center since 2008 offers an effective method of minimizing heart damage. This technique requires patients to inhale until their chest expands to a certain number of centimeters. As the radiation dose is delivered, patients hold their breath for a specified number of seconds. This moves the chest wall away from the heart and decreases the amount of radiation that reaches the heart.
An external block placed on the patient’s chest sends signals to measure the movement of the patient’s chest, ensuring the patient stays still to avoid exposing the heart to radiation. If the patients are unable to hold their breath, or keep their chests sufficiently inflated, the radiation device turns off.
University physicians developed both the external block and the monitoring goggles which allow the patient to see their own chest inflation level, said Dr. Krishni Wijesooriya, an assistant radiation oncology professor.
“We have two goals in treating this patient,” Wijesooriya said. “The first goal is to treat the tumor. The second is to save healthy tissue, [such as the heart].”
The technique does not decrease the effectiveness of the radiation in any way, said Dr. Monica Morris, an associate radiation oncology professor.
“Breast cancer patients can be assured that they are getting the same quality care with less toxicity,” Morris said. “It’s a win-win all around.”
Most clinics do not use breath control techniques to avoid tissue damage, Morris said, and those that do often use a ventilator to control the patient’s breathing remotely — a procedure Morris said it very uncomfortable.
Compared to other methods of preventing radiation heart damage, Wijesooriya said the center’s technique is more effective, cost-efficient and comfortable for patients.
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