Concure Oncology Launches One-Time, One-Day Radiation Treatment for Early-Stage Breast Cancer

Breast Microseed Treatment Enables Women to Get Back to Living Their Lives the Very Next Day

SEATTLE, May 12, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Concure Oncology/Breast Microseed, Inc., a company specializing in early-stage breast cancer treatment and related services, today announces the launch of its one-time, one-hour radiation treatment option for early-stage breast cancer. Breast Microseed Treatment makes a quicker return to normal activity possible for post-lumpectomy patients by offering a simple, more convenient outpatient procedure: https://www.breastmicroseed.com/breast-microseed-treatment.aspx.

Breast Microseed Treatment significantly lessens the side effects,¹ frequency and duration of radiation treatment following surgery for early-stage breast cancer.  Currently, women who are diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer are faced with the choice of undergoing mastectomies, or up to 30 radiation treatment sessions, taking them away from home or work for extended periods.

"Concure Oncology's treatment approach is much less invasive, and takes just about an hour during a single visit, allowing patients to quickly get back to the important aspects of their lives, including family and work," said company CEO Sandra Rorem, "Our goal is to make this treatment available to every woman with early-stage breast cancer, no matter where she lives," Rorem said, "until then, patients can travel to receive treatment and leave for home the next day."

Breast Microseed Treatment is a form of low-dose rate (LDR) brachytherapy which, with over ten years of clinical studies,² has been clinically proven safe and effective.¹ Concure Oncology is now making LDR brachytherapy, proven successful in treating prostate cancer for 30 years, available for treating early-stage breast cancer.

The company is partnering with Swedish Cancer Institute (SCI) in Seattle as the first cancer center of excellence in the country to offer Breast Microseed Treatment. "This is an historic moment for SCI and Concure Oncology," said Dr. Stephen Eulau, Radiation Oncologist at SCI. "We're excited to bring a leapfrog technology to women with breast cancer, providing complete adjuvant radiation therapy in a one-day, one-hour procedure.  With prostate permanent seed implantation at Swedish, we were able to successfully develop and propagate this treatment strategy to become the most respected implant program in the U.S. Our goal is to replicate this experience, bringing the treatment to women coast-to-coast. Our vision is to build the preeminent breast implant program, and to train the next generation of radiation oncologists in the technique." Dr. Karen Hendershott, Surgical Specialist in Breast Surgery at SCI, added, "We're thrilled to be offering this groundbreaking treatment option for early-stage breast cancer.  We already had a partial breast radiation program at SCI, so we were very excited to learn about this less invasive Breast Microseed Treatment.  This allows us one more opportunity to tailor the treatment to the patient not the patient to the treatment." 

While its first partner is in Seattle, the company is planning significant national rollout plans for additional sites to offer treatment in the near future, including sites in Pennsylvania, Georgia and California.

1. Pignol J-P, Rakovitch E, Keller BM, Sankreacha R, Chartier C. Tolerance and Acceptance Results of a Palladium-103 Permanent Breast Seed Implant Phase I/II Study. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2009; 73(5):1482-8. doi: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2008.06.1945.

2. Pignol J-P, Caudrelier J-M, Crook J, McCann C, Truong P, Verkooijen HA. Report on the Clinical Outcomes of Permanent Breast Seed Implant for Early-Stage Breast Cancers. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2015; 93(3):614-21. doi: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2015.07.2266