Charles Balch, President of the International Society of Oncology Prevention and Treatments, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“This novel surgical technique developed by Prof. Ning Liao from Guangzhou, China, has demonstrated promising outcomes in a consecutive series of 63 ultrasound-guided robotic-assisted lumpectomy operations, achieving only one positive margin. The results of this pilot study was published last week in the distinguished European Journal of Surgical Oncology. Acknowledgments are due to the Editor-in-Chief, Prof. Riccardo Audisio, and the reviewers for their valuable suggestions and comments.
Key takeaways from the study include:
- Intra-operative ultrasound-guided injection of ICG dye into the breast cancer more precisely delineates the tumor location.
- The robotic-assisted surgery begins within 5 minutes from a retro-mammary approach through a small axillary incision.
- With 3D imaging and 10-fold magnification, the surgeon at the console can see the boundaries of the breast cancer and accurately excise the tumor with a narrow margin.
- Both intra-operative frozen section and permanent sections confirmed that 62 of 63 excisions had “no tumor on the margin,” with one case having a separate focus of DCIS that was excised.
- There was minimal distortion of the contours of the treated breast, no scars over the breast, and no patients required a later reoperation.
This pilot study reflects a prospective single surgeon experience, now including over 100 patients. The technique has resulted in substantial downstream cost savings, as no patient needed a second operation due to a positive margin. We look forward to the results of further trials to assess the reproducibility of this approach by other breast surgeons. The publication is available for download on the EJSO website as an open access article. Congratulations to Prof. Liao and her team for a pioneering approach to conservation breast surgery with such outstanding results.”
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