MammoSite

• Frequently Asked Questions
• For Physicians

For Physicians - MammoSite

The MammoSite® Radiation Therapy System (RTS) internally delivers radiation directly to the tissue surrounding the original tumor, minimizing radiation exposure to the rest of the breast, skin, ribs, lungs and heart.

About the procedure

During the lumpectomy procedure or shortly thereafter, the deflated MammoSite balloon is placed inside the tumor resection cavity.

The applicator shaft, a tube connected to the balloon, remains outside the breast. Once in place, the balloon is inflated with saline to fill the cavity, the catheter site is dressed and the patient may go home. The balloon remains inflated for the entire time that the patient is receiving radiation therapy.

The patient returns to the hospital for treatment on an outpatient basis where a radioactive "seed" is inserted within the inflated balloon, beginning a five day sequence of treatments. No source of radiation remains in the patient's body between treatments or after the final procedure. When the therapy is concluded, the balloon is deflated and the MammoSite RTS catheter is removed.

Most widely used form of partial breast irradiation

MammoSite RTS is the most widely-used form of partial breast irradiation (PBI), the practice of targeting radiation to the area directly surrounding the original tumor, where recurrence is most likely1.

The American Society of Breast Surgeons and the American Brachytherapy Society recommend PBI be considered in women over the age of 45 with small total tumor size (3 cm or less), among other selection criteria.

Stats and facts about MammoSite

• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cleared MammoSite RTS in May 2002, and since that time, MammoSite has been used to treat more than 16,000 breast cancer patients.
  
  
• A five-year follow-up study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute found that PBI using a similar technique to MammoSite RTS produces comparable results to conventional whole breast radiation therapy in preventing breast cancer recurrence in appropriately selected women treated with BCT.
  
  
• The first four-year data presented at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology meeting in October 2005 demonstrated that no patients experienced recurrence after treatment with MammoSite.
  
  
• Published data on the use of MammoSite RTS involving more than 1400 patients reports low local recurrence rates and good to excellent cosmetic results.

Insurance coverage

Insurers representing more than 120 million covered lives cover MammoSite RTS as a breast cancer treatment. Specific coverage for the MammoSite RTS will depend on a patient’s individual health care plan.

MammoSite is manufactured by Cytyc Surgical Products (Marlborough, Massachusetts). To visit the MammoSite web site, go to: www.mammosite.com

Reference

1 Keisch M, Arthur DW. Current perspective on the MammoSite Radiation Therapy System- A balloon breast brachytherapy applicator.  Brachytherapy 2005: 4: 177-180

Information and graphics courtesy of MammoSite.