The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Centre recently reported a discovery that could be a cue to the development of an all new treatment for breast cancer patients. Dr. William Dooley, Director of Surgical Oncology at the university said, “This therapy is a major advancement for women with later-stage breast cancer”.

After an extensive countrywide study, researchers have reached the conclusion that heating up breast tissues, with the help of microwaves, could help shrink tumours and also increase the effectiveness of chemotherapy.

Generally, most women who are suffering from late-stage breast cancer are forced to go in for a mastectomy, but this could now change, thanks to the new technology, which would provide patients with a much better chance of surviving cancer, without having to get their breasts removed.

As per figures shared through the initial study, the chances of mastectomy could be cut back by as much as 90%.

Although Dr. Dooley has not been able to pin-point the exact reason as to why the treatment has been successful, it seems like cancerous tumours are highly sensitive to the heat which is generated by microwaves.

Also, researchers have stressed that there is every reason to believe that the treatment method would work on other cancer forms as well.