Today, more and more women with early-stage breast cancer are able to treat their cancer effectively and preserve their breasts through an option called breast conservation therapy (BCT). This treatment includes the removal of the cancerous tumor, which is called a lumpectomy. The lumpectomy is generally followed by 7 weeks of whole breast external beam radiation therapy. This combination of surgery and radiation works well to prevent local recurrence of the tumor.

However, some patients find it hard to complete almost two months of radiation therapy. It might be difficult to take time from work or other responsibilities, or treatment centers may be far from home.

A 5-day treatment option for you
The MammoSite Radiation Therapy System (RTS) is the most widely used method of partial breast irradiation that works by delivering radiation from inside the breast directly to the tissue where cancer is most likely to recur. Radiation therapy with MammoSite RTS can be completed in up to 5 days, allowing you to get back to your life.

How it works
The MammoSite device is a small, soft balloon attached to a thin catheter (tube) that fits inside the lumpectomy cavity (the space left after the tumor is removed). A tiny radioactive source (seed) is placed within the balloon by a computer-controlled machine.

Because the source is inside the balloon, radiation is delivered to the area of your breast where cancer is most likely to recur. When used as primary therapy - the only form of radiation following a lumpectomy - you would receive treatments twice a day for up to 5 days.

If your doctor feels that whole-breast external beam radiation is more appropriate for you, MammoSite Radiation Therapy System (RTS) may be used as boost therapy. This therapy combines MammoSite RTS with external beam radiation to deliver additional radiation directly to the area of the breast where cancer is most likely to recur. In this case, MammoSite RTS therapy is delivered over 1 to 2 days.

Partial Breast Irradiation

One treatment option for patients undergoing breast conservation therapy is partial breast irradiation, also known as limited-field radiation therapy. The most widely practiced method of partial breast irradiation is breast brachytherapy.

Brachytherapy treats the breast using a radiation source that is placed inside the body. This has four important advantages:

• Radiation is delivered from inside the breast directly to the area where cancer is most likely to recur.
  
• This limits the amount of radiation to healthy tissue, thereby reducing the potential for side effects.
  
• The therapy can be completed in up to 5 days.
  
• Radiation therapy can be completed before beginning chemotherapy (if prescribed).
  

Clinical studies of patients treated with breast brachytherapy have demonstrated low local recurrence rates. The most recently published study from the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, cited a local recurrence rate of 1.0% at five-years follow-up. This rate was similar to that seen in a group of patients treated with external beam radiation.

Breast brachytherapy can be delivered in one of two ways

Multi-catheter brachytherapy
For many years, brachytherapy has been provided to breast cancer patients by implanting multiple (up to 30) catheters (tubes) in the breast. After placement, a radioactive seed is delivered into each catheter to treat the target area. The seed is delivered into each catheter twice a day (morning session and afternoon session), typically for 5 days. The total treatment time for each session is approximately 20 minutes. When treatment is complete, the catheters are removed from the breast.

Balloon catheter brachytherapy
This is one of the latest advances in the treatment of breast cancer and is currently the most widely practiced method of brachytherapy.