Head & Neck Cancer Patient Treated with Innovative Radiotherapy Treatment

UK first

30 June 2019 (Last updated: 30 Jun 2019 12:35)

A woman from Salisbury has become the first patient in the UK with head and neck cancer to receive radiotherapy in the operating theatre during surgery to remove a recurrent tumour.

Jayne Garrett, 53, underwent major surgery at University Hospital Southampton on 25 April after suffering a recurrence of her cancer following conventional treatment in 2015 and 2017.

During the procedure she received a full dose of radiotherapy via Mobetron, the first portable system able to administer the treatment – known as intraoperative electron beam radiotherapy (IOERT) – in this way.

This is an intensive form of targeted radiation given at the time of surgery to treat a wide variety of advanced cancers that are otherwise difficult to remove and treat.

Mobetron is a mini-version of a linear accelerator and can send high energy focused electron beams precisely to areas inside the human body immediately after a cancer has been removed.

IOERT enables surgeons and oncologists to give much higher doses of radiation to areas that are at a high risk of recurrence without causing damage to surrounding healthy tissue and organs.

See full article on University Hospital Southampton website

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