University of Virginia Health System

U.VA. OFFERS NEW TREATMENT THAT AIMS TO PREVENT BREAST CANCER RECURRENCE IN LUMPECTOMY PATIENTS

A procedure to eliminate cancer cells that may linger undetected after surgery is now available for breast cancer patients in Central Virginia. The University of Virginia Health System is the first hospital in the area to offer brachytherapy -- implantation of radioactive seeds through a balloon catheter -- to women who have had lumpectomies.

This procedure provides another radiation treatment option for women who have had a cancerous lump removed from their breast, said Dr. Maria D. Kelly, chairman, Department of Radiation Oncology, U.Va. Health System. It is designed to irradiate the surgical site from which the lump has been removed with minimal irradiation of the surrounding tissue. We hope that by eliminating residual cancer cells, brachytherapy will prevent recurrence of the cancer.

FDA approval of the MammoSite™ Radiation Therapy System made by Proxima Therapeutics for the outpatient brachytherapy procedure took place last month.

The new device is a thin hollow tube -- a catheter -- to which an inflatable balloon is attached. The device is implanted into the breast at the site of the lumpectomy and the balloon is inflated. A radioactive source is placed into the catheter. The balloon acts to center the radiation source within the wound. After a series of treatments is completed, the catheter is removed.

The FDA said the device is intended primarily to be used to treat breast cancer in its early stages when there is no need to remove the whole breast. It does not replace whole breast radiation treatments for women who need that treatment.

Brachytherapy for breast cancer patients is another valuable addition to the U.Va. Cancer Center's comprehensive breast care program, Kelly said.

June 26, 2002