Healing rays.

It’s been a few weeks since TARGIT-A has spurred controversial headlines so this article is here to shake things up. First of all, subgroup analyses demonstrated no subtype does significantly worse with IORT. thus the authors argue all patients are suitable for IORT who fit their broad trial eligibility: age ≥45, tumor ≤3.5 cm, and <cN2. As a bonus, it includes a decision aid calculator for when to add external beam radiation to IORT. Now, back to the head scratcher of a survival benefit, we’d rather quote than paraphrase: “A single large dose of radiation such as TARGIT-IORT given during the trauma of surgery might possibly have an abscopal effect... Strange as it may seem, such an abscopal effect appears to give long-term protection against deaths from cardiovascular causes and other cancers.” End scene.  | Vaidya, Br J Cancer 2021