SAVI Applicator Outperforms Competing Devices, Study Concludes

PHOENIX--(Business Wire)--
A study conducted at Arizona Oncology Services (AOS) found
important advantages for the SAVI(TM) applicator over other radiation
devices used for accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI). The
study and one other also conducted at AOS were presented as posters at
the recent 2008 World Congress of Brachytherapy.

SAVI is a single-entry, multi-catheter device that delivers
radiation as part of breast conservation therapy. It is the only APBI
single-entry device that can customize the dose according to
patient-specific anatomy. By more precisely targeting radiation
therapy, SAVI treats the tissue where the cancer is most likely to
recur, while minimizing the exposure of healthy tissue such as the
skin, heart, lungs and ribs.

In the first study, SAVI was compared to two balloon applicators.
The researchers noted that SAVI's multiple peripheral catheters, each
of which can be individually loaded with a radiation source, enabled
them to significantly lower the radiation dose delivered to the skin
while maintaining full coverage of the target volume. When compared to
the other devices, this capability provided better protection to the
skin and chest wall.

"This new study indicates SAVI may provide dosimetric advantages
over competing forms of breast brachytherapy," said Salih Gurdalli,
Ph.D., a physicist for AOS who led the study. "The ability to conform
the catheters to the target area and modulate the dosing makes it
possible to deliver radiation treatment more precisely," said Coral
Quiet, M.D., a radiation oncologist at AOS, who was a co-author of the
study.

The second study presented by AOS evaluated the performance and
clinical utility of the SAVI applicator when used as the sole
radiation treatment for patients with early-stage breast cancer. The
study involved 15 patients who were treated with the device.
Consistent with the results of the first poster, this study showed
that SAVI allowed the radiation oncologist to deliver an optimal
dosage to the target area while still shaping the dose to avoid the
skin and chest wall.

The researchers found that skin dose values with the applicator
were 10 percent to 13 percent lower than published values for the most
common balloon applicator.

"Partial breast irradiation (PBI) delivers dose-dense treatment to
the site within the breast at greatest risk for recurrence. It shows
great promise of reducing local failure, minimizing radiation exposure
to surrounding organs, and shortening the treatment time to 5 days.
Some methods of PBI, however, may deliver unacceptably high doses of
radiation to the skin or chest wall. Those patients who are not
candidates for certain PBI methods can be safely treated by
Strut-Adjusted Volume Implant (SAVI)," said AOS radiation oncologist
Robert Kuske, M.D., one of the study's co-authors.

Arizona Oncology Services was the first medical facility in the
nation to offer SAVI as part of breast conservation therapy.

The SAVI applicator is a recent advance in APBI, which is a
shortened course of high-dose radiation therapy for early-stage breast
cancer patients following lumpectomy surgery. Breast brachytherapy is
a type of APBI in which radiation is delivered from within the breast.
All APBI approaches reduce treatment time from six or seven weeks --
which is generally required with conventional whole-breast irradiation
-- to just five days.

The World Congress of Brachytherapy was cosponsored by the
American Brachytherapy Society and was held May 4-6 in Boston.

About Arizona Oncology Services

Arizona Oncology Services is a radiation oncology practice that
was formed in 1981. With a team of over 20 physicians and 13 locations
in the greater Phoenix area and Yuma, AOS is a nationally recognized
leader in numerous radiation techniques including accelerated partial
breast therapy, brachytherapy, prostate seed implants, stereotactic
radiosurgery, and monoclonal antibody radiation therapy. AOS
physicians and staff partner with patients, families, and referring
physicians to provide superior radiation oncology care with a focus on
leading edge treatment, empathy and compassion. For more information,
call 602-274-4484 or access www.azoncology.com.

Arizona Oncology Services
Lois Griffitts, 602-240-3375
LGriffitts@AzOncology.com
or
Dowling & Dennis Public Relations
Liz Dowling, 800-386-0157
LizDowling@aol.com

Copyright Business Wire 2008