The SAVI applicator, which treats early-stage breast cancer, is now in use at Saint John’s Health System.

Saint John’s is one of the first hospitals in the country to use it.

The applicator contains multiple catheters and is inserted within the breast where the tumor was removed.

Dr. Darrel Ross, radiation oncologist at Saint John’s Cancer Center, explained that the new applicator allows greater precision during post-lumpectomy radiation.

“In patients whose tumor was close to the skin or chest wall, the SAVI allows us to decrease the dose to these critical structures,” said Ross. “The multiple catheters allow us to more strategically place the dose where we need it.”

Despite being comprised of a group of catheters, it is a single-entry device which limits the damage to healthy tissue. When inserted in the breast, the SAVI applicator is collapsed. The doctor applying the treatment can then expand the bundle to conform to the shape of the cavity.

Aside from SAVI’s precision and preservation of healthy tissue, another advantage is the treatment’s speed. Like the MammoSite procedure, radiation is administered with SAVI twice a day for 5 days, as opposed to a period of several weeks with external beam radiation to the whole breast. Common side effects like redness, bruising and breast pain can be reduced or avoided by using SAVI.

“At Saint John’s, we treated three out of the first eight SAVI patients in all of Indiana,” Ross said. These patients were among the first 25 in the country to be treated with SAVI. “We are happy with the outcome of these treatments and are pleased to be able to let women in our community know of their options.”

Now available at six sites in Indiana, the SAVI solution for breast cancer treatment is covered by major insurance companies just like MammoSite and other forms of post-lumpectomy radiation. The SAVI technology was developed by Cianna Medical, Inc., (Aliso Viejo, Calif.) a women’s health company dedicated to the early detection and treatment of breast cancer.

For more information on the SAVI treatment at Saint John’s, call the Health Resource Line at (765) 642-3301.