Proxima Therapeutics says the first Canadian patient has been treated with its MammoSite Radiation Therapy System (RTS).
The patient was treated under protocols specified by both the Ville Marie Oncology Center and the Centre Hospitalier de l’Universite de Montreal in Canada.
By internally delivering the radiation directly to the tissue surrounding the original tumor, Proxima says its MammoSite RTS minimizes radiation exposure to healthy tissue.
The system received clearance from Health Canada’s Therapeutic Products Programme in August 2001 and the U.S. FDA in May 2002.
“Since its FDA clearance last year, MammoSite has become available in more than 250 institutions in the United States, and has been used to treat more than 2,200 women,” said Timothy Patrick, president and chief executive officer of Proxima Therapeutics. “We hope to also experience tremendous growth and acceptance in Canada and, ultimately, to make MammoSite available to all women who are eligible for this treatment.”
The first Canadian patient treated with the MammoSite RTS had the device implanted at the Ville Marie Oncology Center. This was made possible by funding from the Ville Marie Oncology Foundation.
With the speed of the five-day treatment, the patient was able to complete the therapy long before she would have begun traditional radiation treatments, which are administered daily for four to six weeks.
Proxima: www.proximatherapeutics.com
