Cancer is Personal for Ashikari Breast Center

What if breast cancer patients could avoid the grueling six-week radiation therapy that is typical after surgery, and instead get radiation during the surgery itself?

"This is where I think the future of radiation is going," said Dr. Andrew Ashikari, a surgical oncologist who runs the Ashikari Breast Center with his father, Dr. Roy Ashikari.

The Ashikari Breast Center, located at the Community Hospital in Dobbs Ferry, is one of the few medical facilities in the country – and the only one in the tri-state area – to offer radiation during surgery instead of afterwards, which some experts believe is a revolutionary approach to treating breast cancer.

Roy Ashikari, 71, has long been a pioneer in breast cancer treatment. In 1980, he opened the first medical practice in Westchester County that treated only breast cancer.

Treating cancer is very personal for the Ashikaris. Andrew's mother died of colon cancer when she was just 28 years old and he was 3.

"Cancer has always been a part of my upbringing both personally and professionally," he said. "I think that my father's influence was likely the strongest driving force which led me to my choice of following in my father's footsteps."

Andrew, 45, went to Chicago for his surgical training but moved back to Chappaqua, where he grew up, in order to work with his father. He and his wife have two daughters, Emily and Elizabeth, who attend school in Chappaqua. His father now lives in Yorktown.   

"Practicing as a cancer surgeon has been very rewarding from a personal aspect because I am able to constantly stay on top of the changing field of oncology, which has seen incredible progress with new targeted therapies and the expanding field of cancer genetics," Ashikari said.

As part of staying on the cutting edge of cancer treatment, the Ashikari Center participated in an international research study called TARGiT – short for targeted intra-operative radiation therapy – which tested the effectiveness of a single, targeted dose of radiation during a lumpectomy, compared to the typical six to seven weeks of radiation most breast cancer patients undergo after surgery.   

The results of this phase of the TARGiT study found intra-operative radiation treatment as effective as whole-breast radiation in reducing breast cancer recurrence in some patients.  

"Patients' feedback is tremendous," Ashikari said. "And a big benefit is it's cheaper, so it's a win-win from our standpoint."

The treatment offers several benefits to patients, including reducing toxicity and some side effects and cosmetic reactions. In addition, patients are able to return to their daily routines quicker, the doctor said. 

The treatment is still in its clinical trial phase and not FDA approved. Several doctors have expressed concerns that the trial has not lasted long enough to accurately reflect the treatment's effectiveness over time.

"It is way too early to draw solid conclusions in order to safely recommend targeted intra-operative radiotherapy to any group of patients based on these immature data," Dr. Henry Mark Kuerer of M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, told MedPage Today.

Ashikari said the treatment has also received "pushback" from some radiation oncologists.

"Breast cancer treatment is thirty percent of their business," he said.

Patients are given the option to participate in the trial, Ashikari said. Since 2000, the center has treated approximately 2,150 patients with the intra-operative method.

The Ashikari Breast Center has led the way in other innovative procedures. For women at high-risk for breast cancer due to familial genetics, the center performs a "one-step" breast reconstruction surgery that preserves a woman's nipples during a mastectomy.

"I am humbled by the incredible trust which patients place in me every day," Ashikari said.

For more information, visit the Ashikari Breast Center's website.