Prevention of tumour cell dissemination in diagnostic needle procedures.
It is known that when needle biopsy is performed in a primary cancer, tumor cells may become detached and spread into the blood stream. This phenomenon is called "seeding" and there might be a risk that these circulating cancer cells will settle down and become a metastasis.
Unilabs´ mammography department at Capio St Göran´s Hospital is involved in a research project together with professor Hans Wiksell at the Karolinska Institute and the breast surgeons at Capio St Göran´s Hospital testing a special "anti seeding" biopsy needle. When looking at the blood drop on the skin after a needle biopsy of a cancer, tumor cells are normally found in the blood drop in more than 60 %. If an anti seeding needle is used, 0 % cancers cells are found in the blood drop.
These early results are now presented in an article in the British Journal of Cancer.
This article was the third most downloaded article in the paper.
Karin Leifland MD Ph D