Technique dramatically cuts treatment time

Consultant breast surgeon Mr Neil Rothnie and consultant clinical oncologist Dr Anne Robinson with the first Comfort patient.

Southend University Hospital is the first in the UK to use Nucletron’s Comfort catheter applicator system in combination with its high dose rate remote brachytherapy afterloader, the microSelectron, on a 53-year old breast cancer patient. 

The patient completed her treatment (including staging and grading of disease and lumpectomy) in less than six weeks.  The brachytherapy element of her treatment was given over five days, while external beam irradiation would have taken 15-25 days.

Says Nucletron: “This new technique in combination with the applicator system, known as accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI), offers a number of patient benefits – including highly improved cosmesis – over the external beam irradiation technique, by retaining breast shape and avoiding collateral damage to underlying structures such as ribs, heart or lung.  In addition, overall treatment time is greatly reduced.”

See the full story on page 16 of the March 2010 issue of RAD Magazine.