Carbon Dye Tattooing of Biopsied Axillary Node in Breast Cancer (pre-ATNEC)

October 10, 2020 updated by: Dr Amit Goyal, University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust

Pre-ATNEC - A Multicentre Prospective Feasibility Study of Carbon Dye Tattooing of Biopsied Axillary Node and Surgical Localisation in Breast Cancer Patients

The primary aim of this prospective, multicentre study is to determine whether the involved node can be marked using black carbon dye and successfully identified at the time of surgery. The secondary aims are to determine the concordance between the tattooed node and sentinel node, migration of black dye into other nodes, and false-negative rate of tattooed node (in patients undergoing ALND after NACT).

Study Overview

Detailed Description

Pretreatment evaluation of axillary lymph nodes and marking of biopsied nodes in patients with newly diagnosed breast cancer is becoming routine practice. Tagging of biopsied axillary lymph nodes with metal markers, similar to what is done for suspicious breast lesions, is being adopted in clinical practice. The need to mark a positive axillary lymph node becomes especially relevant in cases where neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) is anticipated so that these nodes may be identified at the time of surgery. Measures that improve both the accuracy of nodal evaluation after NACT and the ability to assess treatment response are desirable in order to tailor therapies for breast cancer treatment. The investigators sought to test tattooing of biopsied axillary lymph nodes with a sterile black carbon suspension (Spot dye). The concept is based on the experience in the gastrointestinal tract wherein tattooing is widely used for marking lesions or tumours biopsied during endoscopy. India ink tattoos of colonic lesions remain identifiable over a long period of time. Spot is routinely used in the UK for tattooing gastrointestinal tract lesions and is used to mark the axillary lymph nodes in breast cancer by some centres in the US and Europe. The intraoperative success of identifying tattooed axillary lymph nodes and their concordance to sentinel nodes will be determined.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

100

Phase

  • 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

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

Ages Eligible for Study

14 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age ≥ 18
  • Male or female
  • Patients scheduled to undergo routine fine needle aspiration (FNA) or core biopsy of abnormal axillary lymph node
  • Invasive breast cancer
  • Written informed consent for the study

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Not undergoing surgery or unfit for surgery

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: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Tattooing of biopsied node
The biopsied node will be tattooed at the time of needle biopsy (fine needle aspiration or core biopsy) or separate visit under ultrasound guidance.
Tattooing (marking) of biopsied node with carbon dye (SPOT dye) at the time of fine needle aspiration or core biopsy or separate visit under ultrasound guidance. The dye will be injected in the cortex of the node and the perinodal tissue under ultrasound guidance. Patients will undergo standard (routine) armpit surgery and may receive neoadjuvant chemotherapy as planned by the clinical team. This could be removal of a few lymph glands (sentinel node biopsy) or removal of all the lymph glands (axillary lymph node dissection) in the armpit. The surgeon will try to identify and remove the tattooed lymph gland at the time of planned armpit surgery.
Other Names:
  • carbon dye (SPOT dye)

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Identification rate of tattooed node
Time Frame: 12 months
Proportion of patients in whom tattooed node/s were identified.
12 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Concordance of tattooed node and sentinel node
Time Frame: 12 months
Concordance rate: defined as the percent of patients in whomthe tattooed node is the sentinel node.
12 months
Migration of black dye into other nodes
Time Frame: 12 months
The number of black nodes at the time of sentinel node biopsy or axillary lymph node dissection.
12 months

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Amit Goyal, MS, MD, FRCS, Royal Derby Hospital, Derby, UK

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.

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)

April 27, 2018

Primary Completion (Actual)

July 31, 2019

Study Completion (Actual)

July 31, 2019

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

August 15, 2018

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 17, 2018

First Posted (Actual)

August 21, 2018

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

October 14, 2020

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

October 10, 2020

Last Verified

October 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 241379

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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