Effectiveness and efficiency of targeted intra-operative single dose radiotherapy for breast cancer patients confirmed

Jena, Germany | Carl Zeiss Meditec AG

Use of targeted intra-operative radiotherapy (TARGIT), as a single dose - with ZEISS INTRABEAM - directly after removal of a tumor, confirmed as non-inferior, when compared with external beam radiotherapy (EBRT). Within the accuracy of the study, the risk of a local tumor recurrence in the breast is similar and non-breast cancer death is reduced. The TARGIT-A randomized, multi-center phase 3 study involving 2298 patients with a median patient follow-up time of 8.6 years meets the highest scientific standards.

Globally more than 40,000 patients have already been treated, in over 350 breast cancer centers, with the TARGIT method. "Single dose intra-operative radiotherapy for early stage breast cancer can be a better alternative to conventional whole breast radiotherapy for most patients during primary tumor management " stated the principal investigator Professor Jayant Vaidya, Professor of Surgery and Oncology and Scientific Director at University College London when presenting the results of the study. “These excellent results provide real clinical justification for single intraoperative radiation in suitable patients with early breast cancer. It is now essential to develop the corresponding treatment guidelines as soon as possible”, added Professor Jeffrey Tobias, Professor of Oncology at University College London and joint initiator of the TARGIT-A study.

The local, recurrence-free survival rate of women treated with single dose TARGIT is non-inferior when compared with EBRT. The mortality in the TARGIT arm was even lower because of fewer cardio-vascular deaths.

"We are delighted with the positive results, as the ZEISS INTRABEAM 600 now represents an outstanding treatment alternative for many patients. We are confident that the procedure can now find its way into everyday clinical practice" said Ludwin Monz, CEO of Carl Zeiss Meditec AG.

"This study reflects two decades of interdisciplinary clinical research by leading radiation oncologists, surgeons, physicists and health economists. The TARGIT-A trial has offered many breast cancer patients a treatment that is well tolerated, effective, convenient and highly cost efficient", summarized Professor William Small, Professor of Radio-oncology at Loyola University, Chicago and one of the world's leading radiation oncologists.