Has anyone heard of or had interoperative radiation?

My 63-year old brother finished 37 treatments of radiation, plus chemo for his Stage IV Tongue Cancer. He is six weeks out of treatment and a biopsy recently revealed a cancerous growth beneath his chin. Apparently this proposed procedure is to zap him with radiation during surgery.(I already thought he had his lifetime maximum--but I guess this is very specifically directed.)

I have posted elsewhere in this forum about his unwillingness to seek another opinion. So that is now out of the question.

Can anyone offer me any insight about this treatment? What to expect afterwards, how effective is it?

I am so grateful for all the information this site has provided--I feel as though I know many of you.
God bless.

M.

Are they talking about brachytherapy? (This involves radiation seeds surgically implanted in a specific area for a period of time and then removed.)

Cathy

From the lack of response, it doesn't seem this is a typical treatment. I'm not sure if it's new, or unconventional, or perhaps a last resort.

I don't believe radioactive seeds are involved. From what I understand, this procedure involves aiming a megadose of radiation at the site where the lump will have been removed beneath his chin. The really disheartening thing is that a special operating room with leaded walls must be used--and one is not available until Sept. 28. So he has to wait all this time while this aggressive cancer may appear somewhere else in the interim.

It sounds like Stereo-tactic surgery. I have had it post craniotomy, but I guess they could use it for a tumor like your brothers. It is a method they use to deliver a one time high dose of radiation and it is very accurate. Keep in mind this is a guess here, but it sounds like that is what they're doing. I have read about it being used in conjunction with standard surgery and I imagine they would need a special operating room. I had mine 6 weeks post-op and it was done in a standard radiation room. Keep in mind, it may be a good sign that his hospital offers this procedure.

This sounds similar to what my brother will be having. Thanks for your response--and I'm glad you appear to be doing well.

What was your recovery like? Is there anything I can prepare my brother for? Did you also have chemo after the stereotactic surgery? Sorry for the barrage of questions, but we are all very worried because, after all my brother has gone through, this seems so soon to have to endure yet another invasive surgery.

I have had several different surgeries during the past 3 years and the closest I get to his planned treatment is the Stereo-tactic. Mine was to the original tumor bed of a previously removed brain tumor. It really can't be compared to your brothers plan because it appears that he is having both types of surgery at one time. Again, I'm guessing that they are using this treatment to get him radiation without affecting previously radiated tissue. The Stereo-tactic is really effective for brain tumors but I can't say on head and neck cancer. I am on my second chemo program now, but I also got chemo all last summer for lung metastases. What Hospital is he at?

It doesn't seem like this inter-operative radiation or Stereotactic treatment is very common for oral cancers. But I appreciate the information and wish you the best with your treatments.

My brother is at Beth Israel Hospital in New York. He claims his doctors are "the best," and if he believes that, perhaps it will make a positive difference in his responsiveness.

Again, thanks for the info and good luck to you.

m.

The Beth Israel website contains a description of intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT), along with descriptions of stereo-tactic surgery and brachytherapy -- evidently three different ways of getting radiation boosts to a targeted area in a short time. (Several other hospitals with major cancer units have similar descriptions on their sites as well.)

I don't know whether any of the regular posters here have had IORT -- hopefully if they have, they will let you know. I can only tell you that I was dreading the prospect of brachytherapy, coming on the heels of my conventional radiation treatments, and it turned out to be almost a non-event in terms of pain and after-effects.

Cathy

Thanks so much--I'm so glued to this forum, it never occurred to me to look at the hospital's website.

M.