Discover the Drug

1 

What drugs are used? What type of drug is it?

Radiation is used to find the most effective dose of therapy to give to breast tumors, prior to standard partial mastectomy/axillary surgery. The specific radiation therapy is called, Stereotactic Ablative Breast Radiotherapy, or SABER for short.

2

How are the drugs developed?

The development of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) began in the early 1990s at the Karolinska Institute (Stockholm, Sweden) and was derived from the techniques and procedures of SRS.

3

What benefits does the drug give? Are there any adverse effects?

The advantages of this treatment include high LC, acceptable toxicity profile, non-invasive treatment and ability to safely target multiple metastatic lesions. Also,  by delivering high doses of radiation over a short period this causes savings on treatment days, overall time on the treatment machine, and cost. Side effects may include fatigue, skin irritation at treatment site, hair loss at treatment site, headache, neurological symptoms, such as seizure, numbness/tingling or weakness, and gastrointestinal symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting or diarrhea. These symptoms are common for all chemotherapy options.

4

How often and where should I go for a follow-up? What tests would I need at a follow-up?

Patients would need to visit treatment site _______ for a follow up. At the follow up, doctors will record patients' _____ levels.