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Accelerated partial breast irradiation using the MammoSite® device

Nature Clinical Practice Oncology volume 4, pages 324–325 (2007)Cite this article

The MammoSite® breast brachytherapy applicator (Cytyc Corporation, Marlborough, MA) was designed to overcome the potential scheduling problems associated with conventional whole-breast external-beam radiotherapy and the technical difficulties associated with multicatheter-based interstitial brachytherapy for partial breast irradiation (PBI). The MammoSite® device consists of an inflatable balloon connected to a double-lumen catheter containing an inflation channel and a port for passage of a high-dose-rate brachytherapy source. An 192iridium source coupled to a computer-controlled high-dose-rate remote afterloader can be guided into the balloon to deliver the prescribed dose of radiation. The prescription dose is 34 Gy given in 10 fractions of 3.4 Gy delivered twice daily. More than 20,000 women have been treated with the MammoSite® device since FDA approval was granted in 2002.1

According to the initial published reports, treatment with the MammoSite® applicator is well tolerated. Keisch and coauthors reported the results of 43 patients treated as part of the FDA safety study. The authors noted mild side effects related to device placement, including mild erythema, breast pain and dry desquamation, which occurred in 57.4%, 42.6% and 13% of the patients treated, respectively. Significant side effects included seromas in 11.1%, moist desquamation in 5.6%, and infection in 3.7% of the patients.2 Rush University Medical Center and St Vincent Cancer Center have reported infection rates of 13% and 16%, respectively.3,4 With increased attention to wound care and prophylactic antibiotics, more recent series have reported lower rates of infection.5,6

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References

  1. Cytyc company data on file.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. A Dickler is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology at Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL,

    Adam Dickler

  2. AJ Khan is a Fellow at the Brigham and Women's Hospital/Dana Farber Cancer Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.,

    Atif J Khan

Authors
  1. Adam Dickler
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  2. Atif J Khan
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Adam Dickler.

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Competing interests

A Dickler is Clinical Training Faculty for Cytyc, Inc. (trains other physicians to use the device). AJ Khan declared no competing interests.

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Dickler, A., Khan, A. Accelerated partial breast irradiation using the MammoSite® device. Nat Rev Clin Oncol 4, 324–325 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncponc0838

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