Laser Therapy: Treatment for Early Diagnosis of Breast Cancer

Researchers and scientists always search news methods of breast cancer treatment. One treatment that is being tested is a laser treatment. Laser light of a specific wavelength is focused as a narrow beam of high intensity light. Through a thin tune called endoscopes, the beam of laser is delivered. This light is so powerful it can be used to cut steel and to shape diamonds.

For cancerous growths in the windpipe, esophagus, stomach, and colon Laser treatment is being used. It has also used in treatment for early stages of vaginal, vulvar, cervical, and penile cancer.

Researchers hope that this may be a good alternative to a lumpectomy in the early stages of breast cancer. This is still in the developmental stage but scientists are encouraged with the results of their studies on fifteen patients at an Arkansas medical center.

Surgeons inserted a fiber optic thread into the tumor and fired a laser into it. Higher than the fifteen degrees of normal temperatures, the laser heats the tumor. This is enough to kill the cancer cells. In surgeries that followed the laser treatments, they found the tumors initially treated with lasers were destroyed.

Laser Treatment

The laser treatment, if proven effective as a treatment for early diagnosis of breast cancer, would be a great alternative to lumpectomies. The treatment would not destroy the appearance of the breast but would be effective in erasing the cancer cells. With a lumpectomy, there is a scar and a defect is noticeable where the lump was removed from the breast.

With laser treatment, the surgeon does not need to make an incision so there is no scar. The results are not yet believable enough to claim this will erase cancer tumors. For both surgeons and cancer patients, the results are exciting. Their goal is to manage the cancer and prevention of cosmetic disfigurement.

It could still be a longtime before laser therapy is considered as an alternative to cancer surgery, although first reports are promising. The next step is a small study where women will only receive laser treatment for their early stage of breast cancer. These women will be compared to women who have chosen to have a lumpectomy. Scientists will be watching to discover if the laser treated patients have a lower rate of recurrence, about the same, or higher than those who chose surgery.

Once this study has been conducted, a test group will be formed around the nation to get results. Results could be innovatory and many women could avert permanent scarring and surgeries. The results will not be fully realized for several years, though the technology is in place to continue this important development.

Research is being conducted on nanocarbon laser treatments that would specifically target each cell. Without harming the healthy cells that surround the individual cells, but by targeting an individual cell, the cancer cells can be destroyed. With the survival rate of breast cancer at an all-time high of 86 percent, this new laser treatment could make early detection even more important to reduce the deaths due to breast cancer.