April 25, 2007 - WellStar Kennestone Hospital and The Breast Center, Marietta, GA, announced today it has completed treatment on its first breast cancer patient using Xoft Inc.’s Axxent, an electronic brachytherapy system designed to help reduce recurrence of breast cancer.
The Axxent uses a miniaturized X-ray source that can reportedly deliver localized and targeted radiation treatment in virtually any clinical setting under the supervision of a radiation oncologist.
Cleared by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of early stage breast cancer, the Axxent system is designed to deliver therapy directly to cancer sites with minimal radiation exposure to surrounding healthy tissue. Eliminating the need for heavily shielded environments, it is said to give radiation oncologists the flexibility to deliver therapy in a broader range of clinical settings.
Use of the Axxent electronic brachytherapy system reportedly provides the ability to reduce the time required for radiation therapy for early stage breast cancer from seven weeks (for external radiation therapy) down to five days. This may accelerate patient choice of breast sparing lumpectomy surgery with adjuvant radiation therapy over the alternative of a full mastectomy.