December 30, 2013 — The BioZorb 3-D surgical marker improves visualization of the treatment area for radiation planning and therapy, according to a presentation at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium 2013.
The scientific poster reports that the tissue marker is easy to place, safe to use and well-tolerated by patients. In the presentation, consecutive early-stage breast cancer patients were implanted with the device at the time of lumpectomy. The 3-D BioZorb marker was reported to provide clinical advantages for surgeons and radiation oncologists.
"This device could represent a quantum leap in the ability to mark tissue for radiation treatment after surgery," said Christopher Glaser, M.D., FACS, lead author on the poster presentation.
Glaser and John Falcone, M.D., poster co-author, are surgeons at Mitchell Memorial Cancer Center and Owensboro Health Surgical Specialists, Owensboro, Ky.
Currently, there is no standardized, accurate method for marking the surgical site of tumor removal, which makes post-operative radiation planning difficult. Methods typically used for radiation planning may overestimate the volume of the treatment area and may result in excess radiation exposure to normal tissues such as the heart and lungs, causing inadvertent complications.
Because the BioZorb marker is placed directly into the surgical cavity at the time of tumor removal and sutured in place, it is more reliable.
"Our radiation oncologists love this thing," said Glaser. "The visual difference between BioZorb targeting and traditional methods of targeting is dramatic.”
The marker's features make it easily visualized as a clear target site, helping to decrease the amount of breast and adjacent tissues exposed to radiation. The open-spiral design of the BioZorb marker incorporates six permanent titanium clips in a fixed 3-D array and provides specific landmarks at the site of the excised tumor. The poster and other clinical presentations note that the BioZorb marker is useful for radiation treatment planning, patient positioning during treatment and the ability to facilitate advanced methods of radiation treatment.
BioZorb has been used successfully in both the United States and New Zealand. It is made of a bioabsorbable material commonly used in other medical devices and allows the patient's body to absorb the material slowly, so it does not require surgical removal after treatments are completed.
BioZorb has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The device is available in a range of sizes to accommodate a variety of clinical situations.
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May 03, 2025 
