As a commitment to provide extraordinary care for our patients, BayCare’s Morton Plant Hospital recently became the first in Florida to offer breast cancer patients a new technology to treat the cancer and improve surgical outcomes.
The technology, previously used at Morton Plant Hospital during its clinical trials phase in 2020 and now approved by the Food and Drug Administration, is an interoperative system that enables surgeons, during lumpectomy surgery, to detect “residual” cancer cells. The additional cancerous tissue is then removed during the initial surgery, potentially eliminating the need for a second surgery.
Peter Blumencranz, MD, FACS, who was a breast surgeon at The Comprehensive Breast Center at Morton Plant Hospital and is now medical director of the BayCare Cancer Institute, participated in the pivotal clinical trial for the system in 2020.
“The use of this innovative technology can make a tremendous impact in the lives of our patients,” he said. “As surgeons we want to save as much of the breast as possible, but we also need to remove all the cancerous cells.”
A lumpectomy is a surgical procedure for breast cancer, where surgeons remove the tumor and additional tissue around the tumor. After surgery, the tissue is sent to a pathologist to look for additional cancer cells at the margins. If they are found, the patient may need a second surgery.
The new technology is a two-part system called LumiSystem™ by Lumicell. First, the patient receives a fluorescent imaging drug through an IV two to six hours prior to surgery. The medication interacts with cancer cells and nearby immune cells. The surgeon then takes the patient into the operating room and removes the known cancer tumor. Then the surgeon uses an optical scanner to shine a red light inside the breast along the cavity margins to see if the technology detects remaining cancer cells. A computer screen next to the surgeon gives an image that glows red where the imaging device has detected any suspicious tissue.
“You can pretty quickly scan to see if you get a positive signal,” Dr. Blumencranz explained. “Then, you can go back and take additional breast tissue that is suspected to contain cancer.”
Dr. Blumencranz believes the technology can reduce the need for additional surgeries and may allow patients to heal and proceed with their treatment plan more quickly. As always, he advocates for early detection as the best way to beat breast cancer.
BayCare’s St. Joseph’s Women’s Hospital in Tampa will also be using LumiSystem™ soon.
Learn more about breast cancer care at Morton Plant Hospital: Comprehensive Cancer Care in Clearwater
