What is MammoSite brachytherapy?

MammoSite, or brachytherapy, is an internal therapy in which the radiation source is placed inside the body. Proton, IMRT, Gamma Knife® and more conventional X-ray therapies are external therapies. These treatments are delivered by machines located outside the body.

What is MammoSite radiation?

(MA-moh-site) A system used to deliver internal radiation therapy to breast cancer patients after surgery to remove their cancer. MammoSite targets only the part of the breast where the cancer was found.

Who makes MammoSite?

Hologic offers a choice between two systems: MammoSite® and Contura® systems.

What is SAVI brachytherapy?

SAVI is a strut-based applicator that delivers a form of accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) known as a breast brachytherapy, a five-day course of targeted radiation for early-stage breast cancer.

How many sessions of brachytherapy are there?

You may undergo one or two sessions a day over a number of days or weeks. You’ll lie in a comfortable position during high-dose-rate brachytherapy. Your radiation therapy team will position the radiation device. This may be a simple tube or tubes placed inside a body cavity or small needles inserted into the tumor.

What is meant by interstitial brachytherapy?

During interstitial brachytherapy, devices containing radioactive material are placed within body tissue, such as within the breast or prostate. Devices that deliver interstitial radiation into the treatment area include wires, balloons and tiny seeds the size of grains of rice.

How is Savi inserted?

In a typical procedure, before breast surgery, a thin, hooked wire is inserted into the breast, with a portion of the wire extending from the skin to mark where the tumor is located. The surgeon uses the wire as a marker to target the tumor’s location and guide its removal.

What is a Savi implant?

INTRODUCING SAVI BRACHYTHERAPY SAVI Brachy uses thin tubes (catheters) to deliver radiation directly to the lumpectomy site. The catheters gently expand to fit the size and shape of the tumor cavity.

What is the difference between 3DCRT and IMRT?

3-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3DCRT) (1-3) is used to confine the radiation dose to PTV but intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) (4-8) have an additional advantage of sparing the organs at risk (OAR). Many times with 3DCRT, it is difficult to spare the OAR without compromising the PTV coverage.