13. A Navigated Intelligent Knife for Breast Cancer Surgery

Author(s):  
Mark Asselin

When a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer, several treatment options are considered including breast conserving surgery. In this type of surgery, the goal is to completely remove the cancer while leaving as much healthy breast tissue as possible. This is a clinical judgement of high consequence since resecting less tissue is cosmetically appealing but increases the chances of leaving cancer cells behind, known as a positive margin. Conventionally, this operation is performed with an electrocautery – imagine it as an electronic knife – which seals tissue as it cuts and produces small amounts of surgical smoke in the process. In most operating rooms today this smoke is treated as a by product, and it is discarded with no further consideration. But this smoke is rich with useful information; it contains traces of the molecules the knife passed through when the smoke was generated. The intelligent knife (iKnife) analyzes this smoke to determine the pathology of tissue the surgeon’s knife has passed through – whether the tissue is cancerous or not. We have coupled the iKnife with an electromagnetic position tracking system to create a three dimensional spatially resolved malignancy map showing where the surgeon’s knife has encountered cancerous tissue. We have developed a functional prototype and have approval for a first clinical safety and feasibility trial. We hope the spatial map will help surgeons to successfully remove the entire malignancy with the smallest amount of healthy tissue while maintaining negative margins – a successful surgical outcome for the patient.

Author(s):  
Peter A. van Dam ◽  
Cary Kaufman ◽  
Carlos Garcia-Etienne ◽  
Marie-Jeanne Vrancken Peeters ◽  
Robert Mansel

Abstract: The role of the surgeon managing breast diseases has been the subject of continuous evolution, moving from the cancer-extirpative surgeon to a deeply informed surgical leader, who interacts in a multidisciplinary setting also encompassing tasks for risk assessment, genetic counselling, and new diagnostic approaches. Surgical removal of the tumour remains the cornerstone in treating early stage breast cancer. During the last century, breast cancer surgery became less radical, breast-conserving treatment emerged, and the role of axillary lymphadenectomy changed from a therapeutic procedure into a staging procedure with prognostic implications. Later, the sentinel node concept reduced the need for complete axillary clearance in most cases. Nowadays, thanks to breast-conserving surgery, oncoplastic techniques, and reconstructive procedures, most breast cancer patients can overcome this disease without serious permanent physical mutilation. A multidisciplinary approach, benchmarking, and quality assurance have improved outcomes markedly.


2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (8) ◽  
pp. e666-e676 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel A. Greenup ◽  
Christel Rushing ◽  
Laura Fish ◽  
Brittany M. Campbell ◽  
Lisa Tolnitch ◽  
...  

PURPOSE: Financial toxicity is a well-recognized adverse effect of cancer care, yet little is known about how women consider treatment costs when facing preference-sensitive decisions for breast cancer surgery or how surgical treatment choice affects financial harm. We sought to determine how financial costs and burden relate to decisions for breast cancer surgery. METHODS: Women (≥ 18 years old) with a history of breast cancer were recruited from the Army of Women and Sisters Network to complete an 88-item electronic survey. Descriptive statistics and regression analysis were used to evaluate the impact of costs on surgical decisions and financial harm after breast cancer surgery. RESULTS: A total of 607 women with stage 0 to III breast cancer were included. Most were white (90%), were insured privately (70%) or by Medicare (25%), were college educated (78%), and reported household incomes of more than $74,000 (56%). Forty-three percent underwent breast-conserving surgery, 25% underwent mastectomy, 32% underwent bilateral mastectomy, and 36% underwent breast reconstruction. Twenty-eight percent reported that costs of treatment influenced their surgical decisions, and at incomes of $45,000 per year, costs were prioritized over breast preservation or appearance. Overall, 35% reported financial burden as a result of their cancer treatment, and 78% never discussed costs with their cancer team. When compared with breast-conserving surgery, bilateral mastectomy with or without reconstruction was significantly associated with higher incurred debt, significant to catastrophic financial burden, treatment-related financial hardship, and altered employment. Among the highest incomes, 65% of women were fiscally unprepared, reporting higher-than-expected (26%) treatment costs. CONCLUSION: Cancer treatment costs influenced decisions for breast cancer surgery, and comparably effective surgical treatments differed significantly in their risk of patient-reported financial burden, debt, and impact on employment. Cost transparency may inform preference-sensitive surgical decisions and improve patient-centered care.


1999 ◽  
Vol 17 (6) ◽  
pp. 1727-1727 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy Whelan ◽  
Mark Levine ◽  
Amiram Gafni ◽  
Kenneth Sanders ◽  
Andrew Willan ◽  
...  

PURPOSE: To develop an instrument to help clinicians inform their patients about surgical treatment options for the treatment of breast cancer and to evaluate the impact of the instrument on the clinical encounter. METHODS: We developed an instrument, called the Decision Board, to present information regarding the benefits and risks of breast-conserving therapy (lumpectomy plus radiation therapy) and mastectomy to women with early-stage breast cancer to enable them to express a preference for the type of surgery. Seven surgeons from different communities in Ontario administered the instrument to women with newly diagnosed clinical stage I or II breast cancer over an 18-month period. Patients and surgeons were interviewed regarding acceptability of the instrument. The rates of breast-conserving surgery performed by surgeons before and after the introduction of the instrument were compared. RESULTS: The Decision Board was administered to 175 patients; 98% reported that the Decision Board was easy to understand, and 81% indicated that it helped them make a decision. The average score on a true/false test of comprehension was 11.8 of 14 (84%) (range, 6 to 14). Surgeons found the Decision Board to be helpful in presenting information to patients in 91% of consultations. The rate of breast-conserving surgery decreased when the Decision Board was introduced (88% v 73%, P = .001) CONCLUSION: The Decision Board is a simple method to improve communication and facilitate shared decision making. It was well accepted by patients and surgeons and easily applied in the community.


Surgery Today ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 45 (8) ◽  
pp. 1071-1072
Author(s):  
S. Singh ◽  
A. A. Agarwal ◽  
K. R. Singh ◽  
A. A. Sonkar ◽  
J. K. Khuswaha ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. 6640-6640 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yvonne Y. Lei ◽  
Katharine M. Quain ◽  
Don S. Dizon ◽  
Rachel Jimenez ◽  
Jennifer Adrienne Shin ◽  
...  

6640 Background: Costs of cancer care may impact access to therapy, adherence, and distress among patients. However, the degree to which patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) wish to discuss financial issues when making treatment decisions is unknown. Methods: In a single arm feasibility trial, 40 women with newly diagnosed or progressive MBC completed a 1-page survey regarding goals and priorities for discussion with the oncology team. The survey included 17 potential priorities for discussion in the domains: treatment options, symptom management, emotional concerns, planning for the future, and lifestyle. We evaluated participants’ interest in prioritizing discussion of financial issues and sociodemographic and clinical correlates of this preference. We examined the relationship between desire to discuss financial issues and both distress on the Distress Thermometer (DT) and satisfaction with cancer care using Fisher’s exact test. Results: Among 40 participants, 11 (28%) reported interest in discussing financial issues when making treatment decisions, 29 (72%) were not interested. Average age was 57 (range 31-73), and the majority were white (85%) and college graduates (66%). Only 18% of white patients were interested in addressing cost, while 83% of non-white patients were interested (p < 0.01). Those with a college education were less likely to prioritize financial discussion compared to no college (16% vs. 47%, p = 0.04). Patients interested in discussing cost were more likely to have a household income < $50,000 (50% vs. 22% > $50,000, n.s.) and to have Medicaid (50% vs. 25% other insurance, n.s.). Additionally, patients with higher levels of distress (35% vs. 21% DT < 4, n.s.) and those on novel targeted or biologic therapy (42% vs. 21% other therapy, n.s.) were more likely to prioritize discussion of costs. Desire to discuss cost was not related to satisfaction with care. Conclusions: A substantial minority of patients with MBC, particularly those from less advantaged backgrounds, wish to discuss financial issues at time of treatment decisions. Financial toxicity research should recognize that not all patients desire this discussion and evaluate methods to screen for financial concerns and barriers to care.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 124-133
Author(s):  
Ahmed Abdelatif ◽  
Galal Abounaggah ◽  
Mohamed Elmesery ◽  
Mohamed Asal ◽  
Moataz Eweda

The previous research on breast cancer's psychological impact was based on its effects on shape, with breast removal, and the subsequent effect on sexual attractiveness. Several changes that affect life behavior after breast cancer surgery including insomnia, difficulty returning to usual activities and work, nightmares and loss of appetite. These manifestations may be due to depression but they are only considered abnormal if they persist after the period of physical recovery from surgery. We conducted a study to assess the effects of the surgical decision and psychological impact of this decision on Egyptian females with breast cancer. Most patients were subjected to a questionnaire including all environmental and clinical factors affecting the surgical decision either mastectomy or breast-conserving surgery. As a conclusion we can say that breast conservative surgery is better accepted psychologically by patients than modified radical mastectomy as it did not affect sexual life, cosmetic appearance, mood, self-satisfaction, and quality of life.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qing Yang ◽  
Xiaorong Zhong ◽  
Wei Zhang ◽  
Ting Luo ◽  
Ping He ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Both breast-conserving surgery and breast reconstruction surgery are less popular in China, although they can improve patients' quality of life. The main reason comes from the economy. There is currently no economic evaluation of different surgical treatment options for early breast cancer. Our study aimed to evaluate the long-term cost-utilities of different surgical treatment approaches for early breast cancer. The surgical approaches are including mastectomy(MAST), breast-conserving therapy(BCT), and mastectomy with reconstruction (MAST+RECON). Methods We applied the propensity score matching method to perform a 1: 1 match on patients undergoing these three types of surgery in a tertiary academic medical center from 2011 to 2017 to obtain a balanced sample of covariates between groups. A Markov model was established. Clinical data and cost data were obtained from the medical records. Health utility values were derived from clinical investigations. Strategies were compared using an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER). Results The total cost of MAST, MAST+RECON and BCT was $35,282.24, $69,428.82 and $73,661.08, respectively. The discounted quality-adjusted life year(QALYs) were 17.94, 18.71 and 20.49, respectively. Compared with MAST, MAST+RECON and BCT have an ICER of $106708.06/QALY and $15050.53/QALY, respectively. The ICER of BCT vs. MAST was less than the threshold of $27,931.04. The reliability and stability of the results were confirmed by Monte Carlo simulation and sensitivity analysis. Conclusions We believe that in the context of the limited resources in China, after comparing the three surgical approaches, BCT is the more cost-effective and preferred solution.


BMC Cancer ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeeyeon Lee ◽  
Jin Hyang Jung ◽  
Wan Wook Kim ◽  
Chan Sub Park ◽  
Ryu Kyung Lee ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Preoperative breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides more information than mammography and ultrasonography for determining the surgical plan for patients with breast cancer. This study aimed to determine whether breast MRI is more useful for patients with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) lesions than for those with invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC). Methods A total of 1113 patients with breast cancer underwent mammography, ultrasonography, and additional breast MRI before surgery. The patients were divided into 2 groups: DCIS (n = 199) and IDC (n = 914), and their clinicopathological characteristics and oncological outcomes were compared. Breast surgery was classified as follows: conventional breast-conserving surgery (Group 1), partial mastectomy with volume displacement (Group 2), partial mastectomy with volume replacement (Group 3), and total mastectomy with or without reconstruction (Group 4). The initial surgical plan (based on routine mammography and ultrasonography) and final surgical plan (after additional breast MRI) were compared between the 2 groups. The change in surgical plan was defined as group shifting between the initial and final surgical plans. Results Changes (both increasing and decreasing) in surgical plans were more common in the DCIS group than in the IDC group (P <  0.001). These changes may be attributed to the increased extent of suspicious lesions on breast MRI, detection of additional daughter nodules, multifocality or multicentricity, and suspicious findings on mammography or ultrasonography but benign findings on breast MRI. Furthermore, the positive margin incidence in frozen biopsy was not different (P = 0.138). Conclusions Preoperative breast MRI may provide more information for determining the surgical plan for patients with DCIS than for those with IDC.


2009 ◽  
Vol 27 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e11546-e11546
Author(s):  
S. Lee ◽  
S. Kim ◽  
H. Kang ◽  
E. Lee ◽  
E. Kim ◽  
...  

e11546 Background: As many Asian patients want breast conserving therapy (BCT), use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) increase in preoperative diagnosis for breast cancer. But the impact of MRI on these patients has not been unclear. Methods: From January 2008 to July 2008, 423 patients underwent breast cancer surgery in National Cancer Center, Korea. We enrolled 357 patients consecutively in this retrospective study; 290 patients (non-MRI group) with preoperative mammography (MMG) and ultrasonography (US) vs. 66 patients (MRI group) with additional MRI to MMG, US and excluded 67 patients (42 patients with preoperative chemotherapy, 8 patients with ipsilateral recurrence, 17 patients whose MRI showed no residual lesion after excisional biopsy). We examined MRI effect on mastectomy rate, intraoperative conversion from BCT to mastectomy, positive margin rate in frozen specimen in both group. In MRI group, we evaluated the correlation between tumor size on US, MRI and pathologic tumor size. Results: Mean age of this study was 48.89 years (Non-MRI group: 50.70 years vs. MRI group: 46.33 years, p=0.001). The rate of mastectomy wasn’t different in both groups (Non-MRI group: 13.7% vs. MRI group: 19.4%, p=0.252). Intraoperative conversion to mastectomy was performed frequently in MRI group. (Non-MRI group: 1.7% vs. MRI group: 7.5%, p=0.023). But positive margin rate in frozen specimen was similar in both groups (Non-MRI group: 23.2% vs. MRI group: 34.0%, p=0.111). In MRI group, mean tumor size on MRI, US was 3.07cm, 1.98cm respectively. Mean pathologic tumor size was 2.67cm. The tumor size on MRI correlated strongly with the pathologic tumor size. The correlation coefficient was 0.732 (p=0.0001). But the tumor size on US didn’t correlate with the pathologic tumor size (p=0.066). In twenty nine patients whose MMG showed suspicious microcalcification, tumor size on MRI also correlated strongly with pathologic tumor size. The correlation coefficient was 0.693 (p=0.0001). But US didn’t show the correlation with the pathologic tumor size in these patients. Conclusions: Preoperative breast MRI didn’t give the impact on breast cancer surgery in Asian patients and could overestimate the size of tumor. But it could strongly correlate with the pathologic tumor size in Asian patients. No significant financial relationships to disclose.


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