New Procedure to Localize Breast Tumors Piloted at Mayo Clinic

Thursday, August 07, 2003

Media Contact: Anne Tewksbury
Public Affairs
480-301-4368

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Women undergoing breast cancer surgery now have the option of a more precise and convenient method of locating tumors and tissue abnormalities, thanks to radioactive seed localization, a procedure being piloted at Mayo Clinic Hospital. It is one of only two facilities in the United States using this technology.

Radioactive pellets the size of a grain of rice are implanted into the affected area of the breast and the surgeon can pinpoint the tumor using a hand-held Geiger counter. This procedure guides the surgeon to the precise location to make the incision so the cancer and radioactive seed can be removed.

The alternative to radioactive seed localization is a cumbersome guide wire inserted into the breast, a procedure that is less comfortable for the patient and may not allow for the same precision in surgical margins. Radioactive seed localization can be done up to five days prior to surgery, whereas the guide wire must be placed the same day as surgery.

"The most important thing is that this technology allows us to be more precise when operating for breast cancer, while providing a more convenient process for the patient and surgeon," says Rick Gray, M.D., surgical oncologist at Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale.

The amount of radiation given off by the radioactive seed is less than the amount emitted from a standard X-Ray. Randomized studies published in the Annals of Surgical Oncology have shown that adequate surgical margins are achieved twice as often with radioactive seed localization as compared to wire localization. This translates to a higher likelihood that all cancer will be removed from the breast in the initial operation in the case of a lumpectomy or segmental mastectomy.

Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale has been piloting radioactive seed localization by clinical trial since 2002, and approximately 140 of these procedures have been completed by patients enrolled in these trials. The scope of the study has been broadened to include Mayo Clinic locations in Rochester, Minn. and Jacksonville, Fla. Radioactive seed localization is currently under review for approval by the Food and Drug Administration.

Those wishing to participate in the current clinical trial clinical trials to rate the convenience and level of pain perceived from radioactive seed localization may contact the Mayo Clinic Breast Clinic at 480-301-6999. Eligible for the study are women who have a breast cancer detected by mammogram or ultrasound, but not felt, as well as women needing a surgical biopsy of an area that cannot be felt by the surgeon.

The Mayo Clinic Cancer Center – Scottsdale was designated a comprehensive cancer center by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in 2002. Mayo Clinic, including the Scottsdale site and sites in Rochester, Minn., and Jacksonville, Fla., is one of only 40 treatment facilities in the United States to have this advanced designation.

Mayo Clinic is a private group practice of medicine dedicated to providing diagnosis and treatment of patient illnesses through a systematic focus on individual patient needs. As a leading academic medical center in the Southwest, Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale focuses on providing specialty and surgical care in more than 66 disciplines at its outpatient facility in north Scottsdale and at Mayo Clinic Hospital. The 205-bed hospital is located at 56th Street and Mayo Boulevard (north of Bell Road) in northeast Phoenix, and provides inpatient care to support the medical and surgical specialties of the Clinic, which is located at 134th Street and Shea Boulevard in Scottsdale.

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