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The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has recommended in draft guidelines for Britain’s Health Service the use of a new tool that works in a similar way to a metal detector and emits a noisy sound to help detect and treat breast cancer that may have spread.
This tool is injected into the tissue surrounding the cancer. It is a small probe known as a syntimagh, that can detect and track the magnetized fluid that doctors inject into the body.
This magnetized fluid, called Magtris, is a magnetically detectable fluid that helps surgeons and radiologists in the surgical treatment of breast cancer.
It is designed in such a way that it can flow through the body’s lymphatic system and accurately identify areas of potential cancer, if it has spread from a tumor.
The instrument tracks the fluid’s journey, and beeps as it moves to show where the cancer may have lodged.
The surgeon can then take a sample or biopsy from that specific area to check whether or not cancer is present.
The draft guidance, issued by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, could help more hospitals in England and Wales conduct the tests.
Some hospitals now use harmless radioactive dye injections and scans instead. But this is not available everywhere.
“People with breast cancer want to know if the cancer has been isolated or has spread to the rest of the body,” said Janet Cosell, acting director of the National Institute of Medical and Digital Sciences. “The sooner doctors can establish this, the better the potential outcome.”
“This technology is another option for surgeons working in hospitals with limited capacity. Other benefits include the ability to perform more procedures, reduce reliance on radioisotopes, and reduce patient travel for biopsy,” she added.
The brown-colored Magtris liquid syringe contains iron oxide, which is magnetic.
Once injected, these particles are absorbed by the lymph system and follow the path cancer cells are likely to take as they spread from a tumor and become trapped in lymph nodes, often in the armpits.
Magtris stains the lymph nodes in a dark brown color, which helps identify them when doctors biopsy them.
Some patients may notice brown discoloration of some parts of the skin near the injection site in the breast tissue, but this fades with time.
Britain’s Minister of Health and Social Care, Sajid Javid, said: “This promising research could provide a new tool for our scientists to track and slow the spread of breast cancer, the most common type of cancer in Britain.”
He added, “The National Health Insurance Authority already screens more than two million women annually for breast cancer, and offers a range of treatments that have helped save thousands of lives.”