Brachytherapy Device Provides Breast-Conserving Treatment

A new device provides a multi-catheter, single-entry approach to breast brachytherapy as part of breast-conserving cancer treatment.

The SAVI applicator, developed by BioLucent, Inc. (Aliso Viejo, CA, USA), will be presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiation and Oncology (ASTRO), November 5-9, 2006, in Philadelphia (PA,USA). The SAVI applicator is for use in accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) after lumpectomy. The applicator is a hybrid of two earlier APBI approaches, combining the tissue-sparing dosimetry of interstitial brachytherapy with the single-entry ease of intracavitary (balloon) brachytherapy.

The device's ability to deliver a precisely targeted dose of radiation is designed to give more flexibility in treatment planning to the radiation oncologist and physicist. APBI was developed as an alternative to whole-breast irradiation. Both whole-breast irradiation and APBI are used after breast-conserving surgery to decrease the risk of ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence. The course of daily treatment for whole-breast irradiation is five to seven weeks.

With APBI, treatment is completed in five days. Other potential benefits of APBI include improved access to breast-conserving therapy, lower risk of injury to healthy tissue, and a faster transition to chemotherapy. "BioLucent developed SAVI in part as a response to research showing that the inconvenience of whole-breast irradiation causes many women to forgo breast-conserving therapy and to be treated with mastectomy,” said Jill Anderson, BioLucent's president.

SAVI may provide a better alternative for these women, Ms. Anderson said. "There is no reason for women to avoid risk-reducing radiation therapy. We believe SAVI may give them another option, by providing a breast-conserving approach that minimizes disruption to their work and family life.”

The SAVI device includes an expandable bundle of catheters that surround a central lumen. The applicator is placed by the clinician into the lumpectomy cavity through a small incision. The clinician expands the catheter bundle by turning a mechanism from outside the breast. The catheters expand to form an ellipsoidal shape inside the cavity. Delivery of radiation through the device's individual catheters allows the doctors better control of the radiation dose.



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