JEDDAH: For the first time in the Middle East, King Abdulaziz University Hospital (KAUH) has bought a state-of-the art radiation device that radically reduces the amount of time needed to treat breast cancer patients after surgery. The Intrabeam cost more than a million Saudi riyals and reduces treatment from six weeks of daily sessions to one session of 25 minutes. The device was invented in 2000 and tested at 23 different medical centers around the world. The device has fewer side effects and there is a 98 percent success rate, said Dr. Mohmoud Al-Ahwal, Professor of Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology, and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, at a press conference Sunday. He added that three successful treatments using the device took place last week. According to the National Registry of Tumors, there are more than 800 cases of breast cancer in the Kingdom. Breast cancer is considered the main cause of female deaths after lung cancer. Dr. Yasser Bahader, Head of the Mammography Department at KAUH, said that early detection of cancer in the Kingdom stood at 30 percent of cases. There was a much better system for early detection in the rest of the world, at 60 percent of cases. He added that the tumor grows in four main phases, from a size of two centimeters, to eventually spreading throughout the body in the last phase. Previous treatment for a tumor involved doctors surgically removing the growth and then letting the patient undergo six weeks of radiation sessions daily. “Using the previous method resulted in many psychological, economic and social side effects. For example, if a patient is not from Jeddah, he has to rent an apartment for the entire period of his treatment,” said Al-Ahwal. The medical team decided to buy the device after it was used in 1,600 cases last year at 23 medical centers in Europe, Canada and the United States of America. There was a success rate of 98 percent. Dr. Adnan Merdad, the leader of the KAUH medical team, said that treatment will be provided free of charge. He said the device is effective because it provides an intensive dose of radiation after surgery. Dr. Zohor Al-Ghaithy, a member of the medical team, said that he had attended workshops abroad to study treatment using the device. He found many people there seeking treatment, including Saudis. It was then decided to bring the device to the Kingdom.
