A new hope for breast reconstruction after cancer: What you need to know about the MATTISSE study

What is being studied?

Doctors from five hospitals in France are testing a new method of breast reconstruction after breast cancer surgery. This technique uses a special prosthesis, called MATTISSE, which helps the body reconstruct the breast in a more natural way.

How does breast reconstruction usually work?

Until now, there were two main methods:

1. With implants: A silicone gel prosthesis is used to restore the breast shape.
2. With the patient’s own tissue (autologous): Tissue (skin, fat, muscle) is taken from another part of the body (e.g., abdomen or back) and used to reconstruct the breast.

What is new about the MATTISSE prosthesis?

This new technique is an ingenious combination:

• It uses the patient’s own fat.
• This fat is placed in a kind of special “basket” or “matrix” (the MATTISSE bioprosthesis), which is biodegradable (meaning it dissolves on its own in the body).
• This “matrix” is inserted into the place where the breast was, along with a flap of adipose tissue, and in this way it helps the fat (adipose tissue) to grow and fill the space, reconstructing the breast shape.
• As the new adipose tissue grows, the “matrix” gradually resorbs (disappears) in about 12 months.
• An important advantage is that this method could reduce the need for additional surgeries to add fat, as sometimes happens with classical methods.

How is the study being conducted?

1. Pilot phase: Ten patients have already participated to see if the method is safe and works.
2. Next stage: If everything goes well after six months of observation of the first patients, the study will expand at the end of 2025, with another 40 patients.
3. Who can participate? Patients who have early-stage breast cancer and do not need chemotherapy or radiotherapy, or those who undergo preventative surgery to remove a single breast.

Why is this study important?

• This technique is considered a major advancement in breast reconstruction.
• It is hoped that it will be less invasive (meaning it will affect the body less) and will provide better and more natural results.
• Before being tested on humans, the method was tried on animals (pigs) and the results were very encouraging: tissue volume increased significantly.
• Doctors hope that this new technique will become a standard and improved option for women who need breast reconstruction.

In summary, the MATTISSE study is exploring a promising method of breast reconstruction that uses the patient’s own fat and a temporary, biodegradable prosthesis to aid natural breast regeneration, with potential benefits such as better results and fewer surgical interventions.

Source Medscape