Sentinel Lymph Node Identification in the Axilla of Women With Breast Cancer Using Ultrasound and Iron Injection



Status:Not yet recruiting
Conditions:Breast Cancer, Cancer
Therapuetic Areas:Oncology
Healthy:No
Age Range:18 - Any
Updated:4/21/2016
Start Date:December 2015
End Date:January 2017
Contact:Sheldon Feldman, MD
Email:Sf2388@columbia.edu
Phone:(646)317-4482

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Identification of Sentinel Lymph Nodes by Ultrasound Utilizing Iron Tracer Injection and Preoperative Biopsy in Women With Breast Cancer

This study evaluates a new method of testing the lymph nodes in the armpit of patients with
breast cancer for tumor involvement. All participants involved in this study will undergo an
injection of a small amount of iron dissolved in liquid followed by an ultrasound of the
axilla that will make previously invisible lymph nodes visible, allowing them to be sampled
in an outpatient setting.

Lymph nodes are small collections of tissue all over the body that drain bodily fluid. These
axillary lymph nodes are important in evaluating breast cancer since, if they are positive,
it suggests that the cancer cells have spread outside of the breast. The current standard of
care is for most breast cancer patients undergoing surgery to have a sentinel lymph node
biopsy which is a procedure to take a sample of the lymph nodes in the armpit (also called
the axilla) during their breast surgery. However this intraoperative biopsy comes with
certain risks such as arm swelling or lymphedema, arm pain, arm numbness/tingling, and/or
psychological distress from waiting for the results or the possibility of further
interventions. In order to avoid this and have a result before surgery, this study will
explore a nonsurgical method of sampling these lymph nodes. Normally suspicious lymph nodes
are hard to find accurately by exam and ultrasound.

A new method has been developed that involves injecting a small amount of iron dissolved in
liquid into the breast that gets absorbed by the lymph nodes making them bright on
ultrasound and possible to biopsy. This method has been shown to have results as accurate as
standard sentinel lymph node biopsy by comparing them in the operating room. This study will
now investigate performing these ultrasounds and biopsies in the office as well as compare
these results to the results of the standard sentinel lymph node biopsy in the operating
room. The results of this study could help future breast cancer patients to avoid invasive
sampling and all of the accompanying risk as well as give patients and the care team an idea
of the extent of disease sooner in order to guide management.

Inclusion Criteria:

- Female patients at least 21 years old

- Patients with invasive ductal carcinoma staged T1 or T2 with estrogen receptor and
progesterone receptor positive (ER+/PR+) who are scheduled for sentinel lymph node
biopsy

- Patients with Ductal Carcinoma In Situ (DCIS) (high or low grade) who are scheduled
for sentinel lymph node biopsy including:

- Patients having a mastectomy

- Patients with palpable DCIS

- Patients undergoing breast conservation with large (>5cm) area of DCIS

- Patients with signed consent to participate

Exclusion Criteria:

- Preoperative palpable axillary lymphadenopathy

- Preoperative ultrasound demonstrating suspicious adenopathy

- Previous axillary dissection or previous lymph node biopsy

- Patients with Invasive Lobular Carcinoma

- Patients who are pregnant
We found this trial at
1
site
630 W 168th St
New York, New York
212-305-2862
Columbia University Medical Center Situated on a 20-acre campus in Northern Manhattan and accounting for...
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mi
from
New York, NY
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