Sentara Offers Xoft System for Breast Cancer Patients

Submitted Health News

Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center today announced that the Xoft® Axxent® Electronic Brachytherapy System® is now available to treat patients with early stage breast cancer. Dr. Negar Golesorkhi and Dr. David Weintritt, breast surgeons at the National Breast Center, and Dr. Susan Boylan, Radiation Oncologist, Radiation Oncology Associates, treated the first patient at Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center on May 16, 2013.

The Xoft system, when utilized for Intraoperative Radiation Therapy (IORT), delivers a single, prescribed, targeted dose of isotope-free radiation directly to the tumor cavity during surgery, thereby minimizing radiation to healthy tissue and organs and eliminating the need for a shielded treatment environment. Typical radiation therapy methods for breast cancer include whole breast radiation, which involves daily treatments for five to seven weeks, and partial breast irradiation where 10 treatments are delivered over a period of five days.

“At Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center we are committed to providing the most advanced treatment options, like the Xoft system, in order to provide the best possible care to our patients,” said Megan Perry, President of Sentara Northern Medical Center. “The Xoft system will first be offered to patients with early stage breast cancer who are eligible for IORT and will later be used for the treatment of endometrial and skin cancers.”

“Eligible patients with early stage breast cancer will benefit from the custom approach of the Xoft system that allows a full course of radiation treatment to be delivered in just one dose during the lumpectomy procedure,” said David Weintritt, MD, FACS. “The availability of the Xoft system is an advancement in the era of personalized medicine, and a demonstration of our commitment to providing a patient-centered approach to treating breast cancer.”

“Our team is very excited to add electronic brachytherapy to our slate of life-saving treatment methods. The ability to utilize isotope-free, electronic treatment that effectively targets the cancer site while minimizing radiation exposure to healthy tissues is something we are proud to make available to our patients.” said Dr. Negar Golesorkhi, MD.

Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center will also participate in a post-market clinical study of the Xoft system for IORT. The study, “A Safety and Efficacy Study of Intra-Operative Radiation Therapy (IORT) Using the Xoft Axxent eBx System at the Time of Breast Conservation Surgery for Early-Stage Breast Cancer,” is a prospective, multi-center, historical control trial. Researchers plan to enroll up to 1,000 patients at as many as 50 study sites across the U.S. and Europe. This post-market study aims to demonstrate the long-term efficacy of IORT with Xoft compared to external beam irradiation and assess cosmetic outcomes and quality of life. “We are pleased to be able to offer this innovative technology to patients who meet the clinical criteria for this breast cancer treatment; we are certain that it will make patient treatment and recovery less distressing during what can be an anxious time,” according to Dr. Susan Boylan, MD.

The Sentara Northern Virginia Auxiliary has made a $250,000 pledge to support the Xoft system at Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center.

“We are very excited to support such an important project,” says Joyce Pieritz, President of the Auxiliary. “Our members are dedicated to supporting new technologies and services because we know that our entire community will benefit.”