SAVI 6-1Mini applicator is the only brachytherapy solution for patients with small breasts, says study

The SAVI™ 6-1Mini breast brachytherapy applicator is the only brachytherapy solution for patients with small breasts, hard-to-reach lumpectomy cavities, or cavities close to the skin surface, according to a new study.

Physicist and lead researcher Serban Morcovescu, MS, DABR, presented these findings on the 6-1Mini device at the recent annual conference of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

Morcovescu’s scientific poster was one of three such presentations on the SAVI applicator that were presented at the prestigious national meeting.

“The SAVI 6-1Mini applicator is the only implant solution for small lumpectomy volumes,” said Morcovescu, of Texas Oncology Denton, in Denton, Texas.

He compared the device to two other brachytherapy technologies, including another multi-lumen balloon device. “SAVI allows us to safely treat patients whose breast size, cavity size and/or skin distance would not allow the use of balloon applicators.”

According to the study, SAVI allowed proper dose optimization, excellent PTV coverage and acceptable skin sparing for all patients.

SAVI is implemented as part of breast conservation therapy, encompassing surgery to remove the breast cancer and follow-up radiation -- in this case, radiation that is delivered inside the breast by brachytherapy. SAVI treatment is completed in just five days compared to the six weeks of treatment, five days a week, that are typically required by traditional, external-beam radiation treatment.

Morcovescu’s study evaluated seven patients who were ineligible for balloon brachytherapy due to small breast size, small cavity size or minimal distance between the cavity and skin surface. Balloon brachytherapy applicators cannot be used on smaller cavities or those close to the skin surface or other body structures.

The SAVI 6-1Mini was specifically designed to deliver radiation to small or hard-to-treat lumpectomy cavities. The device is not limited by restrictions on skin spacing or cavity volume, because its multi-catheter design enables physicians to carefully direct and modulate the radiation dose.

The two other posters presented at the conference were APBI Brachytherapy Device Stability and the Importance of Pre-faction Device QA, authored by Daniel Scanderbeg, Ph.D. and Catheryn Yashar, M.D., of Moores Cancer Center at University of California, San Diego; and Dosimetric Effects of Non-Symmetric Openings of Multi-Catheter Breast Brachytherapy Applicators, authored by Jay Reiff, Ph.D., of Hahnemann University Hospital.

The 51^st annual ASTRO meeting was held Nov. 1-5, 2009, in Chicago. The SAVI applicator is made by Cianna Medical, Inc.