Robotic Nipple-Sparing Mastectomy Vs Conventional Open Technique

March 23, 2026 updated by: European Institute of Oncology

Robotic Nipple-Sparing Mastectomy And Immediate Robotic Breast Reconstruction Vs Conventional Open Technique: A Prospective Randomized Trial Evaluating Patients Satisfaction

This trial is designed to compare robotic nipple-sparing mastectomy and immediate robotic breast reconstruction with conventional open technique. It is a prospective randomized trial evaluating patients satisfaction

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

High proportion of patients with newly diagnosed early-stage breast cancer in Europe and US undergo to mastectomy. The absolute numbers of mastectomy rates in US is still today around 38% and represent one of the most performed operation for cancer reasons. Despite the lack of a natural cavity needed for endoscopic viewing, applications of robotic surgery have recently emerged for superficial organs such as in the fields of thyroidectomy, oropharyngeal surgery, plastic and reconstructive surgery. However, it has never been applied in breast cancer except for a feasibility and safety study conducted at European Institute of Oncology.

The technique was firstly published by Toesca et al. considering the first 3 cases. The same research as continued on breast cancer evaluating feasibility, reproducibility and safety studying 26 consecutive procedures of robotic nipple sparing mastectomy and immediate robotic breast reconstruction (article under peer to peer review at European Journal of Surgical Oncology, EJSO). In these initial cases of robotic nipple sparing mastectomy and immediate breast reconstruction authors found two main advantages such as the robotic optical vision and the minimal invasiveness. The two main limitations noticed in this initial experience were the duration of operating time and the additional costs related to the operation. The limitations of the applicability of robotic surgery to the breast, such as operating time and costs, might be offset by the advantages they observed such as better vision and minimally invasive approach with an anatomically more respectful mastectomy.

This project is a superiority trial comparing robotic nipple sparing mastectomy and immediate breast robotic reconstruction with conventional open technique.

The primary end-point is to evaluate patient satisfaction. Second end-point is to compare post-operative outcome considering complications, post-operative pain, reduction of the average length of stay of patients, long term oncological outcome of the two different surgical techniques.

Patients will be randomized into two treatment arms:

A. Open nipple-sparing mastectomy and immediate breast reconstruction with implant (Open NSM) B. Robotic nipple-sparing mastectomy and immediate robotic breast reconstruction with implant (Robotic NSM) Both arms will undergo to the same pre-surgical staging, intra-operative axillary surgical staging, post-operative multidisciplinary evaluation and adjuvant treatments according to international and internal protocols.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
82

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Italy
      • Milan, Italy, 20141
        • European Institute of Oncology

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Invasive breast cancer, Ductal Carcinoma In Situ, Breast Related Cancer Antigens mutation carriers.
  • Any age
  • Candidates to nipple-sparing mastectomy and immediate breast reconstruction
  • Negative preoperative assessment of nipple-areola complex
  • Absence of skin involvement
  • Low probability to have positivity of nipple-areola complex tissue intra-operative frozen section
  • Breast volume ≤ Bra IV; from cup A to D
  • No hard smoking (hard smoking defined as >20 cigarettes/day)
  • Low and intermediate risk for anesthesia (ASA Scale)
  • Written informed consent must be signed and dated by the patient and the investigator prior to inclusion
  • Patients must be accessible for follow-up

Exclusion criteria:

  • Previous thoracic radiation therapy for any reason
  • Inflammatory Breast Cancer
  • Skin involvement
  • Pre-operative diagnosis (radiological or cytological) of nipple-areola complex disease
  • Pregnancy
  • Patients with psychiatric, addictive, or any disorder, which compromises ability to give informed consent for participation in this study
  • Uncompensated Diabetes Mellitus
  • Hard smokers (hard smoking defined as >20 cigarettes/day)
  • High risk for anesthesia

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Active Comparator: Open NSM
Conventional Nipple Sparing Mastectomy
Procedure: Open NSM
Open nipple-sparing mastectomy and immediate breast reconstruction with implant
Experimental: Robotic NSM
Robotic Nipple-Sparing Mastectomy
Procedure: Robotic NSM
Surgical technique conducted using robot to perform nipple sparing mastectomy and breast reconstruction

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Patient satisfaction
Time Frame: 1 year
The BREAST-Q survey is used to detect differences in patient satisfaction among the groups
1 year

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Overall survival
Time Frame: 5 years
Overall survival
5 years
Disease free survival
Time Frame: 5 years
Disease free survival
5 years
Average length of stay of patients
Time Frame: 1 month
Reduction of the average length of stay of patients of the two different surgical techniques.
1 month
Post operative complications
Time Frame: 1 month
Compare post operative complications (pain, skin or nipple-areola injury or necrosis or infection, hematoma, seroma)
1 month
Cumulative incidence of local recurrence
Time Frame: 5 years
Cumulative incidence of local recurrence
5 years
Cumulative incidence of axillary recurrences
Time Frame: 5 years
Cumulative incidence of axillary recurrences
5 years
Cumulative incidence of distant recurrences
Time Frame: 5 years
Cumulative incidence of distant recurrences
5 years

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
European Institute of Oncology

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Paolo Veronesi, MD, European Institute of Oncology

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Helpful Links

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
March 31, 2017

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
February 1, 2026

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
February 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
March 11, 2017

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
February 14, 2018

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
February 22, 2018

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
March 24, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
March 23, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • R 530/16- IEO 562

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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