INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of the new detection system of sentinel lymph nodes in breast cancer (SentiMag) and to compare its use to the standard method of detection with a radioisotope and a gamma-probe. METHODS: Twenty breast cancer patients scheduled for sentinel lymph node biopsy underwent standard lymphatic mapping with a radioisotope and also with the Sienna+ tracer. During the surgery, sentinel lymph nodes were identified preferably with the SentiMag system. The gamma-probe was used only at the end of the surgery to verify whether all sentinel lymph nodes had been harvested. RESULTS: The sentinel lymph node was detected in all cases. Both methods agreed in 18 cases, i.e. the lymph node with the highest magnetic value ex vivo was the same node as the one with the highest radioactivity. A metastasis in the sentinel lymph node was found in three patients. It is very likely that with the sole use of the SentiMag system, the results would have been identical to those of using the standard method with a radioisotope and the gamma-probe. CONCLUSION: The new magnetic detection method of sentinel lymph nodes (SentiMag) is feasible and clinically comparable to the gold standard method of detection with a radioisotope and the gamma-probe in patients with breast cancer. The new method could find its use not only in hospitals where the department of nuclear medicine is not available but in all hospitals performing sentinel lymph node biopsies in breast cancer and possibly other types of cancer.

Use of indocyanine green and the HyperEye system for detecting sentinel lymph nodes in breast cancer within a population of European patients: a pilot study