Employing electromagnetic radiation, the MarginProbe technology detects possibly malignant tissue. Surgeons who use the MarginProbe device get near-instant tissue evaluation to see if the tumor’s surrounding region includes malignant cells. When the MarginProbe detects cancerous cells, your surgeon can eliminate them after your first procedure, eliminating the need for a second. The FDA-approved MarginProbe device is among the latest tools in the battle against breast cancer.
What is a negative margin?
The tissue that surrounds the tumor is known as the margin. Your surgeon typically extracts both the tumor and the margins during a lumpectomy. Testing determines whether they are ‘clean’ or ‘negative,’ indicating cancer-free, or ‘positive,’ meaning harboring cancer cells. The analysis of this test usually takes a week. If the margin is positive, the patient will need a second lumpectomy to remove additional tissue. Clean margins are required for a successful lumpectomy, ensuring that all cancerous cells are removed. In around 3 to 5 minutes, the MarginProbe device technology may detect cancer cells during operation. The necessity for a repeat lumpectomy is considerably reduced when positive or negative margins are identified during surgery. Positive margins used to need a second lumpectomy in 20-30% of lumpectomy patients. When MarginProbe is used, this need is cut in half.
How does margin probe work
The MarginProbe is a laparoscopic instrument used in combination with cancer diagnostics and palpation. A console and a probe are used in the MarginProbe System. The probe sends out a radiofrequency that can identify malignant cells from healthy ones. The console analyzes the probe’s readings in real-time. During operation, your surgeon sees the outcomes on a screen and utilizes the tissue analysis to remove any cancerous tissue. A margin of clean tissue around the tumor of at least 2 millimeters protects against tumor recurrence. The MarginProbe system can help all lumpectomy patients. MarginProbe raises the bar by proving thoroughness.
Benefits of marginprobe
- MarginProbe is three times more successful than typical intra-operative approaches for detecting “cancer on the margin” during a lumpectomy.
- Increases the likelihood of clean margins.
- Patient anxiousness is reduced.
- Lowers the chances of a second operation.
- Lowers the chances of a second operation.
The downside of margin probe
According to surgeons, one disadvantage of MarginProbe would be that it exaggerates the presence of malignancy, leading to unneeded tissue excision.
A brief summary of margin probe
- A surgical gadget that allows surgeons to screen for cancerous cells all-around borders of a breast tumor and eliminate them right away might eliminate the need for multiple surgeries and improve the efficiency of surgical intervention.
- The hand-held MarginProbe device, developed by Dune Medical Equipment in Paoli, PA, employs RF spectroscopy to evaluate tissue and discriminate between normal and cancerous cells. A flashing blue light shows the absence of cancer cells.
- According to Dune Medical’s recent Q4 2016 report, more than 10,000 individuals have already had pre-cancerous cells utilizing MarginProbe. However, because each surgery requires a new gadget, which costs $1,000 apiece, cost remains a barrier to broader implementation.
- MarginProbe was authorized by the FDA in December 2012 and has been in use since 2013. Last year, the business received clearance for adjustments to the gadget that aligns with revisions in the EU’s Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) regulations.
- According to research, roughly 21.6 percent of women who had a bilateral mastectomy for breast cancer have one or more re-excisions. However, according to research published in the Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics in August 2016, utilizing MarginProbe in the original surgery reduced the risk of re-excision by 51%. Separate research published in December indicated that procedures employing MarginProbe resulted in 57 percent fewer re-excisions.
- According to BreastCancer.org, most women prefer lumpectomy over mastectomy for early-stage breast cancer (64.5 percent against 35.5 per cent, respectively), although this percentage is decreasing. One of the disadvantages of lumpectomy is the possibility of stray cancer cells being left behind, necessitating follow-up treatments and increasing the chance of the illness progressing.
- The MarginProbe device was used intraoperatively on a breast lumpectomy specimen. The probe’s tip is placed on a spot on the resected lumpectomy specimen, which needs to be measured. Radiofrequency impulses are delivered from the probe to the tissue, reflected, and captured by the console during each measurement. An algorithm is used to examine the reflected signals. “Positive” or “negative” results are shown on the instrument—a typical patient’s MarginProbe device output display. Data accumulates from left to right and top to bottom on the screen. On the upper left, the latest measurement is emphasized. The blue bars represent negative readings, whereas positive values are represented by red bars. Yellow frames and labels delineate the margins from which readings are taken.
