Cutting-edge cancer treatment featured on 'Good Morning America'

Xoft treatment was recently featured on ABC News program, "Good Morning America."

The ABC News team profiled a machine known as the Xoft® Axxent® device that can treat certain forms of skin cancer without the use of surgery.

This form of treatment is still in the very early stages, and is more costly than traditional surgical measures, but it represents a potentially groundbreaking step toward a future where skin cancer can be treated far more quickly and easily.

This techique is also being applied to breast cancer.

The UA Department of Radiation Oncology is among the nation's pioneers in a technique known as IntraOperative Radiation Therapy (IORT) in which a dose of radiation is delivered directly to the cancerous tissue. Unlike other forms of radiation treatment, the X-rays produced by this device have a very sharp drop-off. This allows for high doses of radiation to be delivered to the tumor, while delivering very low amounts of radiation to surrounding tissues.

The team at the UA Department of Radiation Oncology is also using the Xoft® machine as part of an innovative breast cancer clinical trial program, as this may represent a tremendous treatment opportunity for patients who have a low risk of having cancer develop in other parts of the breast.

For more information on this program, read the latest Rad-Onc newsletter.

Watch the full "Good Morning America" segment below:

ABC News Videos | ABC Entertainment News

-May 18, 2015