Skin flaps deliver cancer-fighting therapy, ASPS study reveals

Additionally, the serious side effects previously documented with systemic use of IL-12 were not found in the treated rats. The liver, lung and spleen remained normal throughout the study. The delivery technique through free flaps did not cause liver toxicity, whereas using IL-12 intravenously in humans has been shown to cause liver damage.

“This could be a major advance for the delivery of a therapeutic agent to diseased parts of the body,” said Dr. Gurtner. “I can see this therapy being used for breast cancer, head and neck cancers, central nervous system malignancies, and somewhere down the line hemophilia, diabetes and infections.”

The study authors concluded that as oncologic reconstructive surgery is a major component of plastic surgery, the delivery of a healing agent precisely to the region where cancer was and where local recurrences are most likely to occur, could add a new dimension to the reconstructive function of free flaps in oncologic and reconstructive plastic surgery.

Nearly 5.2 million reconstructive plastic surgery procedures were performed in 2007, according to ASPS statistics. More than 3.8 million tumor removals and 57,000 breast reconstructions were performed last year.

Visit www.plasticsurgery.org for referrals to ASPS Member Surgeons and to learn more about cosmetic and reconstructive plastic surgery.

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons is the largest organization of board-certified plastic surgeons in the world. Representing more than 6,700 physician members, the Society is recognized as a leading authority and information source on cosmetic and reconstructive plastic surgery. ASPS comprises more than 90 percent of all board-certified plastic surgeons in the United States. Founded in 1931, the Society represents physicians certified by The American Board of Plastic Surgery or The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.