Chinese scientists say new imaging will protect healthy tissue in breast cancer surgery

Chinese researchers say they have developed a new imaging method that can accurately detect the margins of breast cancer tumours both before and during surgery, allowing for more healthy tissue to be preserved.

According to the team, the imaging targets a biomarker often overexpressed on tumour surfaces and can better detect tumour margins for breast-conserving surgery (BCS), which is preferred for early-stage breast cancer patients.

“BCS involves not only ensuring complete tumour resection but also retaining an adequate amount of healthy tissue to maintain cosmetic integrity,” the researchers wrote in a paper published in the Science Translational Medicine journal on October 16.

The challenge is that being more conservative with tissue removal means there is a higher chance of the cancer recurring – the tissue deemed healthy might still have cancer cells remaining – and patients could require a follow-up operation to remove additional cancerous tissue.

Margin assessments that can be used during surgery to provide “real-time, accurate and effective identification of positive margin tissues are needed to minimise reoperation rates in clinical practice”, the team wrote.

In 2022, some 2.3 million women around the world were diagnosed with breast cancer, according to the World Health Organization.

Around 66 per cent of breast cancer cases are diagnosed before the cancer has spread outside the breast, according to the US National Breast Cancer Foundation.

One method of intraoperative assessment gaining attention is the use of fluorescence imaging because of its speed generating real-time images, its low cost and ease of use, said the researchers from Xiangan Hospital at Xiamen University, Nanjing Normal University, Shantou University Medical College and Yunnan Cancer Hospital.