Breast Cancer

St. Luke’s offers leading treatments and a team approach to diagnosing and fighting breast cancer. In fact, historically, St. Luke’s is known as a regional leader in breast cancer care.

• Did you know St. Luke’s was first in our area to perform sentinel lymph node biopsy for breast cancer, even setting up a training program for all surgeons in the Lehigh Valley to learn this innovative procedure, regardless of affiliations?
• Regionally, St. Luke’s was first to offer IRB-approved clinical trials testing vaccines for breast cancer and to use Mammaprint®, a 70-gene genomic test that safely excludes many patients from unnecessary chemotherapy. St. Luke’s was also first locally to use the “breath-hold” technique for all left-sided breast cancers that get radiation therapy to significantly decrease the amount of radiation that hits the heart.
• St. Luke’s became the first and only hospital in Pennsylvania to offer clinically-proven Intrabeam® Intraoperative Radiation Therapy (IORT) for some early breast cancers, reducing the standard six weeks of radiation therapy to one day.
• St. Luke’s was also first locally to hire fellowship-trained surgical oncologists to ensure patients receive the best care, offer a breast cancer nurse navigator and establish a formalized high-risk screening program coordinated by a genetics counselor and open to all women in the Lehigh Valley.
• St. Luke’s was also first in the area to offer low-dose 3D mammography and automated breast ultrasound (ABUS) to detect breast abnormalities in those with dense breasts.

The breast cancer team at St. Luke’s continues to identify and develop new technologies, clinical trials and services to provide all patients with the best possible breast care.

Treatment options for breast cancer may include the following:

• Breast Cancer Surgery
• Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy
• Radiation Therapy
• Intraoperative Radiation Therapy (IORT)
• External beam radiation therapy (whole breast irradiation)
• Partial breast irradiation
• Chemotherapy
• Promising clinical trials
• Targeted biologic therapies
• Gene expression profile testing
• Breast reconstruction

Breast Cancer Surgery

In every field of medicine, specialization makes a difference – cancer surgery is no exception. Studies have shown that finding the best-trained, educated and experienced surgeon to perform breast cancer surgery can significantly improve care and survival. Surgical oncologists have completed specialized fellowships and participate in societies dedicated to cancer and breast surgery. Patients receiving care through St. Luke’s Cancer Centers have access to St. Luke’s fellowship-trained surgical oncologists and a breast surgical oncologist.

There are two components of breast cancer surgery. The first deals with removing the breast tumor; this can be done either by removing the entire breast (mastectomy) or removing just the tumor and a small amount of surrounding normal breast tissue (breast-conserving surgery or lumpectomy. This is followed by sentinel lymph node biopsy to find out whether the tumor has spread to the lymph nodes.

Typically, women who are candidates for a breast cancer lumpectomy undergo surgical removal of the tumor followed by a six-week course of external beam radiation therapy (EBRT). EBRT continues to be a highly-effective treatment approach and has long been considered the gold standard of care.

Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy

Sentinel lymph node biopsy is necessary to find out whether the tumor has spread to the lymph nodes. Ideally, breast surgery and lymph node surgery are performed at the same time.

Intraoperative Radiation Therapy (IORT)

Some women with early stage breast cancer who are candidates for lumpectomy may also benefit from Intraoperative Radiation Therapy (IORT). IORT is fast and effective and gives women who are candidates for breast conservation an excellent option. IORT can spare some women weeks of radiation therapy.

What makes IORT so unique? In some cases, a single IORT treatment performed in the Operating Room in about 30 minutes immediately following lumpectomy may be the only radiation treatment a woman needs. Still, women who require additional standard radiation therapy in conjunction with IORT can have their treatments over a shorter period of time.

Following surgical removal of the tumor and using a cone-shaped applicator, low-energy, high-dose X-rays target the tumor bed cavity where recurrence is most likely. IORT is precise and immediate and allows many women to resume their daily routine faster and with better quality of life.

For additional information on programs, services and locations, download and print the following PDFs:
St. Luke’s Radiation Oncology Program Guide
St. Luke’s Infusion Centers Guide
Download St. Luke’s Breast Cancer program guide