DENVER -- A new advancement could make radiation treatment for cervical cancer easier, safer and more effective.

One way to kill cervical cancer is to deliver radiation directly to the cancerous site. The standard tool that has been used to do this is a cumbersome, metal, hard to handle device inserted in the vagina and left in for about three days to deliver the radiation.

Aaron Wolfson, M.D., from the University of Miami, said, "It causes great discomfort and even pain to the patients and it is also difficult to use."

He also said that the device can be inserted improperly and could fall out and a high radiation dose cannot be delivered with it.

Wolfson set out to design a device that is user friendly and more effective. He has developed a simple plastic cylinder about seven to ten inches long to use as a conduit for radiation sources. After the device, called Gynocyte, is inserted, small radiation pellets are guided into the device where they are held into place. The device stays in place for two to three days, delivering radiation to the patient.

"It allows us to give a very intense amount of radiation to the tumor with little damage to the nearby and normal tissues," Wolfson said.

Wolfson said the new device is much easier to use and gives a more accurate dose of radiation. It is safer and requires very little, if any, pain medication for the patient. The old device has a success rate of about 60 to 70 percent. Clinical trials have shown the newer, upgraded Gynocyte has a success rate of about 90 percent.

Gynocyte has been undergoing research and clinical trials for several years. It is FDA approved and doctors and hospitals across the country now have the device. Bionucleonics has exclusive rights to manufacture and distribute Gynocyte.

According to the American Cancer Society, about 11,000 new cases of cervical cancer will be diagnosed in the United States in 2008 and nearly 4,000 women will die from cervical cancer this year.

For more information, please Bionucleonics.com.