The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recommended a new test for surgeons to use during operations to discover if breast cancer has spread.
The test – the RD-100i OSNA system produced by Sysmex UK – is used while surgery to remove breast cancer tumours is carried out. It can detect if the cancer has spread to lymph nodes in the armpit. Currently, it is necessary to wait for the results of a biopsy taken during the initial surgery before arranging a second operation if the disease has spread. NICE now recommends that whole lymph node analysis using the system is an option for detecting sentinel lymph node metastases during breast surgery in people with early invasive breast cancer, allowing the test results to be available to the surgical team during the initial operation to help decide if any lymph nodes should be removed at the same time as the initial tumour and avoiding the need for a second operation and allowing subsequent treatments such as chemotherapy to begin earlier. The tests can also analyse the whole lymph node and therefore may reduce the risk of a micrometastasis being missed.
