Implantable BioZorb marker has aided some breast cancer surgeries

PROVIDENCE – Dr. Jennifer Gass, chief of surgery at Women & Infants Hospital, reported to attendees of the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium early last month that women whose breast cancer surgeries have incorporated the BioZorb marker experienced clinical benefits. The BioZorb marker has been cleared for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

According to Focal Therapeutics, the manufacturer of the 3-D implantable device, the BioZorb marker marks the surgical site of tissue removal in three dimensions. The marker is slowly reabsorbed by the body over the course of about one year. BioZorb is placed in a woman’s body during the surgery for breast cancer, and its open design allows for tissue in-growth during the healing process.

Gass was among the researchers reporting that the BioZorb marker was used in hundreds of oncoplastic surgeries across the country. Becoming an increasingly common type of breast-conserving surgery, oncoplastic surgery uses the patient’s own breast tissue to construct and reshape the breast. This type of surgery focuses on both cancer control and a better cosmetic outcome.

“This device facilitates our use of oncoplastic techniques,” Gass said in a statement from Focal Therapeutics. “We find that surgeons who may have not been doing oncoplastic approaches, once they start using the device, are going to perform oncoplastic surgery and get better cosmetic outcomes for their patients.”

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Cosmetic outcomes for the 300 procedures covered by the research, which Gass co-authored, at the symposium were rated as good or excellent by more than 90 percent of the patients and physicians. Data was collected by 18 researchers at 16 different facilities around the United States, according to Focal Therapeutics, based in Aliso Viejo, Calif.

“Cosmetic outcome matters because of its impact on patients in their survivorship,” reported Gass, who is also co-director of the Breast Health Center at Women & Infants Hospital, a Lifespan facility, and an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. “Body image for women with this defining organ of femininity is important. We strive for a better aesthetic outcome so that after treatment, the patient is not self-conscious about her appearance.”

To learn more about BioZorb or to watch a video of a BioZorb implantation, visit www.focalrx.com.

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