MammoSite brachytherapy comparable to whole-breast radiotherapy

Tuesday, December 1 | 10:40 a.m.-10:50 a.m. | SSG20-02 | Room S102C

Breast brachytherapy with the MammoSite device is comparable to whole-breast radiotherapy for breast cancer treatment, according to this Tuesday morning scientific session presentation to be given by researchers from the University of South Carolina in Charleston.

Dr. John Watkins and colleagues compared five-year overall survival and disease-free survival outcomes between women treated with the MammoSite device (Hologic, Bedford, MA) or with whole-breast radiotherapy.

Between January 2002 and September 2007, 369 women were identified who met criteria for inclusion: tumor size of more than 3.5 cm, more than three positive lymph nodes, and minimum follow-up of more than 18 months or any patient with recurrence or death at any time point. Of the total group, 221 women underwent whole-body radiotherapy and 149 women had MammoSite treatments.

Watkins found that the five-year overall survival rate between the two treatments were similar, as were disease-free survival rates. That led the team to conclude that the two therapies are comparable.

"Using five-year estimates, we have not seen a significant difference in disease control, patterns of failure, or survival between patients treated with MammoSite brachytherapy or whole-breast radiotherapy," they wrote. "Preliminary results are encouraging and suggest MammoSite brachytherapy is efficacious, though longer follow-up is needed."