New x-ray scanner could improve breast cancer surgery

The research team from UCL and Queen Mary University of London, working closely with Barts Health NHS Trust and Nikon, said the new approach will aid surgeons performing breast tumour removal surgery by allowing for 2.5 times better detection of diseased tissue in the margins (edges of extracted tissue) than with standard imaging.

Published in Scientific Reports, the study involved the use of X-Ray Phase Contrast Imaging (XPCI) to develop a scanner that would provide surgeons with a full 3D image of the extracted tissue lump, known as a wide local excision (WLE).

While standard imaging picks up the x-ray beam's change in intensity as it travels through tissue, phase contrast imaging measures the changes in speed with which x-ray travels through different tissues, which has been proven to enhance soft tissue contrast.

Currently, WLE is assessed through histopathology - the microscopic examination of tissue - with results only available after several days. Most breast cancer operations are what as known as conserving surgeries, which remove the cancerous tumour rather than the whole breast, but second operations are often required if the margins are found not to be clear of cancer.