Breast cancer is the top cancer killer of women globally. It is diagnosed in 1.2 million women every year and kills 500,000.

The existing treatments leave physical and emotional scars on the patients. A recent study by a British doctor has helped evolve a new treatment which uses a blast of laser light to target and kill tumours without the need for surgery. The research team at the Royal Free Hospital, led by Breast cancer surgeon Mo Keshtgar, developed a treatment known as photodynamic therapy (PDT).

In the new treatment, tumor-killing drugs are injected into the body, which latch onto the tumor and then are activated from outside using a laser. The process starves the cells of oxygen, causing them to die.

The advantages of the new treatment are that it involves no surgery, can be carried out in only a few minutes and doesn't harm healthy cells. The research team is gearing up to start clinical trials involving the use of the new technology on 20 patients this year.

Mo Keshtgar said: "The key appeal is that it attacks and destroys cancer cells while retaining viability of the surrounding normal cells." He added that breast cancer can be particularly traumatic, with more invasive treatments leaving physical and emotional scars. He said that the new treatment would keep the structure of the connective tissue intact, implying that the breast would not become deformed.