UC San Diego Health first hospital with radioactive skin cancer bandage

UC San Diego Health is the first health system in the country to offer patients an entirely new method of skin cancer treatment with a first-of-its-kind, FDA-cleared radiation therapy device that looks and wears like a simple bandage. Over the course of approximately four to five days, the bandage delivers a full, physician prescribed dose of radiation treating select patients with basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas — the two most common forms of skin cancer — without surgery or the need to make repeated trips to a treatment facility.

The new bandage, known as CivaDerm™, is the latest treatment option offered by the brachytherapy team at UC San Diego Health, which specializes in treating many kinds of cancers by placing radioactive material directly in or near a tumor inside the body rather than delivering radiation from a machine outside the body.

“This is a really exciting new tool in a big box of tools that we use to very effectively treat non-melanoma skin cancer,” said Parag Sanghvi, MD, MSPH, radiation oncologist at UC San Diego Health and professor and vice chair of radiation medicine and applied sciences at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine. “Brachytherapy provides near-equal outcomes to surgery and external radiation, so it is a very appealing option for patients who don’t want to undergo surgery or who have a cancer in a cosmetically or functionally sensitive spot.”

Who Can Benefit

Basal cell and squamous cell carcinoma together are the most common cancers diagnosed in the United States. According to the American Cancer Society, approximately 5.4 million basal and squamous cell skin cancers are diagnosed in the U.S. every year, affecting roughly 3.3 million individuals.

UC San Diego Health physicians expect to offer this new approach to patients who may have challenges completing a course of radiation, due to distance from treatment or mobility issues. High dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy for skin cancer typically requires patients to come in twice a week for five weeks for treatment with a linear accelerator. The traditional external radiation approach requires daily visits for three to six weeks. The skin bandage, by contrast, is placed once and removed once, four to five days later.

The flexible, palladium-103-embedded bandage is applied by a physician directly to a skin cancer. The bandage is shielded on one side so radiation is delivered only into the tumor, but because the treatment area is temporarily radioactive, care teams are selective about anatomy and candidacy. Initial treatment areas will focus on cosmetically less-sensitive areas — such as the scalp, neck, arms, legs and trunk — rather than the face. Patients also need to be comfortable following radiation safety precautions for the days the bandage is worn, including keeping approximately six feet of distance from other people.

“This is an excellent option for patients that are less mobile or live far away from treatment and have the ability to sort of self-quarantine for five days as a precaution even though the device includes shielding designed to make exposure to others negligible,” said Sanghvi.

One Tool in an Extensive Brachytherapy Toolbox

UC San Diego Health’s high-dose-rate brachytherapy program, based out of Hillcrest Medical Center, is one of the busiest in the country treating a wide range of cancers, including gynecologic cancers, such as cervical and uterine cancer, along with breast cancer, early-stage non-melanoma skin cancer and head and neck cancers.

At Jacobs Medical Center in La Jolla, UC San Diego Health runs a low-dose-rate brachytherapy program, which now includes the new skin bandage. In addition to treating skin cancer, program physicians also work with ophthalmologists to place radioactive eye plaques for patients with ocular melanoma and collaborate with neurosurgeons to place GammaTiles inside brain tumors.

“We are always thrilled to have another brachytherapy option to offer our patients with cancer,” said Sanghvi. “For the right patients, brachytherapy offers a high precision, outpatient treatment option that lessens the time spent managing side effects and increases the amount of time they have to spend with friend and family.”

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