by Sylvia Zubyk, MD
For all women, the diagnosis of
breast cancer can be daunting.
Even when a woman finds out
the cancer is still in the early stage, the
idea of months and months of potentially
dangerous treatments can be
scary. Women in San Antonio may be
pleased to know that a less invasive
and time-consuming trend in breast
cancer treatment is widely available.
The MammoSite® 5-Day Targeted
Radiation Therapy (TRT), a form of
partial breast irradiation (PBI), allows
many patients with early-stage breast
cancer who are candidates for a
lumpectomy (surgical removal of a
breast tumor) to receive a full course
of targeted radiation in just five days.
This is a remarkable advance, as traditional
radiation may require six
weeks of daily treatment to complete.
In addition to its short treatment
time, the MammoSite treatment targets
radiation to the area where
tumors are most likely to recur, while
minimizing exposure to healthy tissue.
MammoSite was cleared by the
FDA in May 2002 and today more
than 32,000 patients have received
the treatment. Thanks to early detection, some doctors believe up to
100,000 women a year could benefit
from MammoSite.
Many women prefer breast conservation
therapy (BCT) instead of mastectomy
(the surgical removal of the
entire breast). Before the availability of
MammoSite, however, women choosing
BCT had to undergo six to seven
weeks of daily radiation treatment after
lumpectomy. The travel expenses and
time commitment for these patients
could be an enormous burden, especially
for those coming from great distances
to a center for treatment.
The American Society of Breast
Surgeons (ASBS) expanded their
patient selection criteria for women eligible
to receive partial breast irradiation
(PBI) and MammoSite. This
includes women over the age of 45
with tumors up to 3 cm with clear
margins and negative lymph nodes.
Women who meet these criteria have
shown local control rates similar to traditional
radiation.
The first five-year data from a clinical
study on the use of MammoSite
Targeted Radiation Therapy, presented
in May 2007, showed there were no
local recurrences of cancer in the
patients who completed follow up.
Good to excellent cosmetic outcomes
were achieved in 83.3 percent of the
study patients. The study also evaluated
patient acceptance of the procedure.
Survey results showed that 100 percent
of patients said they would recommend
MammoSite to a friend or family
member, and all patients said they
would use MammoSite again if they
had to do it over.
Women interested in more information
on MammoSite are invited to visit
www.VoicesOfMammoSite.com to
obtain more information about the
treatment and to hear the inspiring stories
of breast cancer survivors.
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