title: [Clean margins in breast surgery, mission impossible?].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Surgical margin involvement is a major cause for local recurrence of breast cancer. In many cases, surgical margin involvement entails re-operation in order to achieve clean margins. The "MarginProbe" device uses radiowave spectroscopy to identify malignant tissue in excised tumor specimens. The current paper describes our experience with "MarginProbe" to evaluate the margin status during surgery.
  
  
  METHODS
  MarginProbe was used consecutively to evaluate margin involvement of histology-proven breast cancer patients. The excised tumor specimen was assessed visually as well as by palpation and specimen radiography.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Forty-five patients who underwent breast preserving surgery were assessed with "MarginProbe" during surgery. Ten patients (22%) underwent re-excisions during the operation as indicated by the probe, which led to clear margins as the end result of surgery. In 2 patients (4.4%) additional surgery was performed at a later date to clear the margins. No adverse effects were noted due to the use of the probe.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Use of the "MarginProbe" during breast preserving surgery helps identify involved margins and assists in reaching clear margins following tumor excision. Probe use was effective for infiltrating as well as in situ cancers. Routine use of the probe may contribute to a decreased re-operation rate for involved margins.
authors.forename: Moshe
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Papa
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015412:Mastectomy, Segmental / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000517:prevention & control; D011846:Radio Waves; D012086:Reoperation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013057:Spectrum Analysis / Q000379:methods*