Evaluation of Changes in Tumor Shadows and Microcalcifications on Mammography Following KORTUC II, a New Radiosensitization Treatment without any Surgical Procedure for Elderly Patients with Stage I and II Breast Cancer

We introduced non-surgical therapy with a novel enzyme-targeting radiosensitization treatment, Kochi Oxydol-Radiation Therapy for Unresectable Carcinomas, Type II (KORTUC II) into early stages breast cancer treatment. The purpose of this study was to examine changes in tumor shadows and microcalcifications on mammography (MMG) following KORTUC II for elderly patients with breast cancer. We also sought to determine whether MMG was useful in evaluating the therapeutic effect of KORTUC II. In addition to MMG, positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) was performed to detect both metastasis and local recurrence. In all 10 patients, tumor shadows on MMG completely disappeared in several months following the KORTUC II treatment. The concomitant microcalcifications also disappeared or markedly decreased in number. Disappearance of the tumors was also confirmed by the profile curve of tumor density on MMG following KORTUC II treatment; density fell and eventually approached that of the peripheral mammary tissue. These 10 patients have so far have also shown neither local recurrence nor distant metastasis on PET-CT with a mean follow-up period of approximately 27 months at the end of September, 2010. We conclude that breast-conservation treatment using KORTUC II, followed by aromatase inhibitor, is a promising therapeutic method for elderly patients with breast cancer, in terms of avoiding any surgical procedure. Moreover, MMG is considered to be useful for evaluating the efficacy of KORTUC II.