Radiofrequency as a method of localizing impalpable breast lesions

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Radiology
• Surgical Innovation

Background:

• Increasing incidence of early-stage breast cancer due to enhanced screening and awareness.
• Challenges in localizing non-palpable breast lesions for breast-conserving surgery.
• Limitations of traditional wire localization techniques.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of a novel radiofrequency identification (RFID) tag localization device on surgical outcomes.
• To assess if RFID tag placement influences re-excision rates for positive margins.
• To determine the relationship between RFID tag positioning and the achievement of clear surgical margins.

Main Methods:

• A single-center, single-arm interventional study combining prospective and retrospective data over two years.
• Inclusion criteria: patients diagnosed with non-palpable breast lesions or invasive breast cancer undergoing breast-conserving surgery.
• Localization of lesions using RFID tags, with recorded tag position, distance from lesion center, and depth. Re-excision rates were analyzed.

Main Results:

• 220 RFID tags were inserted in 217 patients. 76.19% of tags were placed within the lesion.
• Positive margins were observed in 17.27% of cases (38/220).
• Re-excision was more frequent when RFID tags were placed adjacent to (within 15mm) rather than within the lesion (28.94% vs. not specified).

Conclusions:

• Radiofrequency identification (RFID) tag localization is a promising alternative to wire localization for non-palpable breast lesions.
• Accurate placement of RFID tags within the lesion is associated with lower re-excision rates.
• The positioning of the RFID tag significantly impacts the likelihood of achieving clear surgical margins.