Mammography Radiation Therapy System Designed for the Treatment of Early-Stage Breast Cancer

A multilumen mammography radiotherapy device now offers more women the option of completing their radiation treatment in only five days.

Hologic, Inc. (Bedford, MA, USA), a developer, manufacturer and supplier of diagnostics, medical imaging systems, and surgical products geared to serving the healthcare needs of women, presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO), held in Chicago, IL, USA, November 1-5, 2009, to feature the MammoSite ML radiation therapy system.

Hologic's MammoSite therapy system, first cleared by the U.S. food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2002, is the most widely utilized and accepted method of accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) in the United States. With its multi-lumen design, the new MammoSite ML device gives radiation oncologists the ability to shape the radiation dose for typical cases and treat patients who are otherwise not appropriate candidates for traditional brachytherapy.

By employing the MammoSite system, the radiation oncologist can deliver targeted radiation therapy directly to the area where cancer is most likely to recur, allowing a full course of radiation to be delivered in just five days. Moreover, targeted therapy of the breast limits radiation exposure to normal, healthy tissue. This targeting helps minimize side effects such as skin discoloration and scarring, burning, fatigue, and damage to surrounding organs.

David Harding, senior vice president of Hologic's interventional breast solutions business, stated, "MammoSite ML is designed to provide radiation oncologists a lot more flexibility; and, we believe the parallel lumen design offers increased patient comfort and enables efficient treatment planning. With MammoSite ML, radiation oncologists should be able to easily satisfy the current clinical recommendation that the dose to the skin and ribs be maintained to less than 125% of the prescription dose. The five-year American Society of Breast Surgeons MammoSite Breast Brachytherapy Registry results are also being presented at this meeting. The data from the study are expected to show once again that treatment with the MammoSite system resulted in acceptable ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence and axillary recurrence rates that are comparable with standard whole breast radiation therapy. We also expect the registry data to show excellent breast cancer-specific survival.”

In October 2009, Hologic began a limited market launch of MammoSite ML to train physicians and scale up for national distribution. The company expects a full commercial launch by the end of 2009.

Hologic's core business units are focused on breast health, diagnostics, gynecologic surgical, and skeletal health. Hologic provides a range of technologies with products for mammography and breast biopsy, radiation treatment for early-stage breast cancer, cervical cancer screening, treatment for menorrhagia, permanent contraception, osteoporosis assessment, preterm birth risk assessment, mini C-arm for extremity imaging, and molecular diagnostic products including human papilloma virus (HPV) and reagents for a variety of DNA and RNA analysis applications.

Related Links:
Hologic