cancer cells
A new discovery on the technique using tiny bubbles to detect cancer has been developed by clinicians at a hospital in Kent. Fifty-four patients were tested in the “microbubble” study at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust.
The results, which were published in the British Journal of Surgery, suggested that breast cancer patients could avoid repeat surgery. Dr Ali Sever, consultant radiologist, who led the study, said the tests transform the way they treat patients. He said: “This is a world first. The test only takes a few minutes to perform and has transformed the way we care for patients.”
Basically, while undergoing surgery to remove breast cancer, surgeons routinely recommend that patients also have an operation to remove glands in their armpit to check if they are cancerous. It is found during the operation with the aid of a coloured dye and is removed for testing. If the nodes are found to be cancerous a second operation is required to remove all the remaining glands in the armpit.
While using the microbubble technique radiologists can test for cancer using only a fine needle biopsy. Surgery is then only necessary if the cancer has spread. Radiologists inject the microbubbles, which are in a tiny amount of fluid, into the patient’s breast. The microbubbles travel to the “sentinel lymph node”, the first to be affected if the cancer has spread, and can be spotted using ultrasound. A fine needle biopsy can then be performed to see if the node is cancerous. If the test is positive, patients have just one operation to remove all the lymph glands at the same time as their main operation.
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