The Breast Cancer Center has been providing service for 30 years to patients; it is the first and only high education board-certified institute of breast cancer in Turkey. There are more than 30 doctors and specialists from other departments such as general surgery, radiology, pathology and genetics, medical oncology, radiation oncology, cosmetic surgery, and plastic surgery where a multidisciplinary approach is adopted for all patients.

Treatments of Breast Cancer

Doctors can apply to multiple treatment options according to the stage and type of breast cancer. Surgery is inevitable for the treatment; however, it is not always the first step. In some cases, the patient needs radiotherapy prior to surgery while in some other cases, chemotherapy may be needed. Each patient and every tumor has a different background and requires an individualized approach and treatment.

Breast-Protective Surgery

Due to systemic recurrence or spreading, referred to as metastasis, removing tissue with a tumor by protective surgery is preffered instead of removing the entire breast. Tumor tissue is surgically removed with a 1 – 2cm normal breast tissue around the tumor in breast protective surgery (large excision, tumorectomy, lumpectomy).

Other techniques based on larger excisions of the breast region are referred to as a quadrantectomy or partial mastectomy. As for lumps which are thought to be malign and marked by wire through mammography or ultrasound are filmed after the excision by wire guided or ROLL (Radionuclide-Guided Occult Lesion Localization) techniques.

Total Mastectomy

Mastectomy is a method applied in situations when breast protective surgery is not suitable. In some cases, it requires the removal of the entire breast as surgical treatment for breast cancer. If the tumor is multicentric, present in multiple points at different locations, it becomes necessary to remove all of the breast tissue. In such cases, removal of the entire breast tissue may be necessary even if the breast cancer is not in an advanced stage. It is also necessary for the removal of the entire breast tissue in breast cancer types which have manifested in extensive calcification within the breast, referred to as microcalcification.

Robotic-Assisted Breast Cancer Surgery

Robot-assisted surgical procedures provide many benefits which the risk of tumor formation is substantially reduced:

• Precision: two high-definition fiber optic cameras transmit the magnified (min. 12x) 3D image of the surgical site
• Flexibility and Maneuverability: the robotic instruments can rotate 540 degrees and allow the surgeon to virtually reach normally very difficult regions

Radiotherapy

During surgical treatment of breast cancer, physicians may apply a single dose of radiotherapy on some patients prior to closing the incision. There are certain criteria for this to be applied, such as the patient’s age should be more than 50 and the tumors should have a biological structure which does not require chemotherapy. The patient will need to receive radiotherapy for a post-operative duration; however, this single application of radiotherapy on the open tissue prevents the patient from receiving the normal longer periods of radiotherapy.

The Breast Cancer Center uses special robotic devices which place a lead plate over the target region of the chest wall during the radiotherapy. The device locks on the target allowing only the targeted tissue to receive radiation. This protects the rest of the body and organs from the effects of radiotherapy.

Chemotherapy

The Breast Cancer Center especially tries to avoid starting treatment with surgery in tumors of stage 2 and above. In such advanced cases, samples of the tumor are taken and its biological structure is analyzed for the tumor board to discuss and develop a treatment plan.

Starting with chemotherapy as a medical treatment entails many advantageous benefits, particularly in cases of advanced stage cancer. Therefore, the first choice in some cases can be medical treatment rather than surgical treatment.

Breast Reconstruction

Breast reconstruction is performed to restore the natural form of the breast after cancer. This is not a cosmetic surgery, but a restoration (reconstruction). Through new improvements in medical science, surgeons can now regenerate a lifelike breast. Plastic and reconstructive surgery specialists are also involved in the treatment of breast cancer.

Medical Technologies

HLTHINTL represents a Senology Institute which is considered as one of the rare centers in the world supported by all available health technologies focusing on breast cancer treatment and diagnosis.

• Da Vinci Robotic Surgery
• Inoperative Radiation Therapy (IORT)
• Tomosynthesis
• 4 Dimensional Ultrasonography
• 3 Tesla MRI