Estimating breast specimen volume from weight and radiological density
Research type
Research Study
Full title
DEVELOPMENT OF A NEW APPROACH TO MEASURE THE VOLUME OF BREAST TISSUE REMOVED DURING WIDE LOCAL EXCISION USING SPECIMEN WEIGHT AND MAMMOGRAPHIC DENSITY
IRAS ID
325661
Contact name
Emanuele Garreffa
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
ISRCTN15283352, ISRCTN registry
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 2 months, 30 days
Research summary
In women who do not wish mastectomy, breast conserving surgery (cancerous lump removed together with a rim of healthy tissue) is performed. This is followed by radiation treatment to prevent the cancer coming back. The cancer area may also be treated with extra radiation (boost). In women with smaller breasts and larger breast cancer, some skin and fat from outside the breast area can be used to fill the surgical gap to maintain breast shape and volume. This surgery, however, can make the target area for the radiation boost more difficult to identify. A precise estimate of the volume of removed tissue could be used to confirm that the right area has been identified and ensure that the boost target is neither too large nor too small.
Breasts are essentially made of two components: fatty tissue, which is lighter and stays afloat if put in water, and true breast tissue, which is heavier and sinks in water. Women's breasts contain a mixture of fatty tissue and breast tissue, with one or the other being more prominent. As a result of this, the weight of breast tissue removed during breast cancer surgery will vary among women. Therefore, simply using specimen weight cannot provide an accurate estimate of its volume as fatty specimens would be lighter than those mostly containing breast tissue, even though they have the same volume.
We will develop a method to estimate the removed breast volume using the removed tissue x-ray appearance (fatty or dense) and weight. We will also measure the volume with water displacement (a precise but more complex and time-consuming technique) and compare it against our technique. If proven to be accurate, this quick and simple technique will help to identify the right area to boost and could lead to develop a better boost technique.REC name
London - Fulham Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
23/PR/0775
Date of REC Opinion
3 Aug 2023
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion