Radiation-therapy developer Proxima Therapeutics has received FDA clearance for MammoSite RTS, a catheter-based radiation treatment device. The Alpharetta, GA, company believes that the product could potentially improve postsurgical breast conservation therapy by delivering radiation directly to a tumor site, thus sparing healthy tissue.
MammoSite RTS consists of a radioactive seed that is inserted into the breast via a balloon catheter and is directed into the cavity created by the removal of a cancerous tumor. In a course of treatment lasting 1-5 days, the seed delivers radiation to areas where tumors are most likely to recur, according to the company.
Proxima believes that MammoSite RTS could help women choose lumpectomy and radiation as a therapy rather than mastectomy. Some 50% of eligible women with early-stage breast cancer still opt for a mastectomy, company executives said.
By AuntMinnie.com staff writersMay 7, 2002
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