MedPage Today reported, “A fluorescence-guided imaging system could improve intraoperative detection of residual breast cancer in women undergoing lumpectomy, a prospective single-arm study suggested.” This “system, which incorporates the activatable fluorescent imaging agent pegulicianine (LUM015) had higher sensitivity, though lower specificity, than standard pathology review of the main lumpectomy specimen.” The findings were presented at the Society of Surgical Oncology annual meeting.
A prospective, single-arm study has suggested that a fluorescence-guided imaging system could improve intraoperative detection of residual breast cancer in women undergoing lumpectomy.
The system, which includes the activating fluorescent imaging agent pegulicianine (LUM015), has a higher sensitivity, although lower specificity, than a standard pathology review of a major lumpectomy specimen, reported Shelley Hwang, MD, MPH, of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.
Incorporation of a fluorescent light-guided surgery system (pFGS) reduced the need for re-excision in 19% of patients undergoing standard breast-conserving surgery, according to results presented at the Society for Surgical Oncology’s annual meeting.
“If all surgeons adhered to protocol and excised all regions of the lumpectomy cavity with signal, the pFGS system could potentially reduce the need for re-excision by up to 32%,” Huang said.
“It is sometimes very difficult to remove lumpectomy margins in patients who have breast-conserving surgery,” Huang said. “It can be challenging because the ducts can branch into irregular patterns, tumor growth can be unpredictable and extend beyond the radiographic abnormality of the breast, and it can be difficult to estimate macroscopic disease during surgery.”
As a result, she notes, 10% to 40% of patients require a second or sometimes even third surgery to remove positive margins.
The study was conducted in 16 US sites and enrolled 234 adult women with newly diagnosed invasive primary breast cancer... READ MORE HERE
Mike Bassett is a staff writer focusing on oncology and hematology. He resides in Massachusetts.
Disclosures Hwang revealed his relationships with AstraZeneca, Clinetic, Higgs boson, Immunis, and Merck