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Pinelli M, Gerardi C, Lettieri E, Maioru M, Marone L, Bertoldi L, Navanteri G, Costantini M, Botti C, Pellini F. Comparison of Indocyanine Green with conventional tracers for sentinel lymph node biopsy in breast cancer: A multidisciplinary evaluation of clinical effectiveness, safety, organizational and economic impact. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0309336. [PMID: 39208241 PMCID: PMC11361597 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0309336] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2023] [Accepted: 08/08/2024] [Indexed: 09/04/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Breast cancer is a global health problem, and sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is the standard procedure for early-stage breast cancer. Technetium-99 (TC-99), alone or combined with blue dye (BD) are conventional tracers for SLNB, but they have safety, availability, and cost limitations. Indocyanine green (ICG) is an alternative tracer that has been gaining acceptance among healthcare professionals. This study aimed at assessing the clinical and economic value of ICG in hospital settings, using the health technology assessment (HTA) framework. METHODS We conducted a comprehensive evaluation of ICG for SLNB, based on literature sources and data collected from two Italian hospitals that switched from TC-99 to ICG. We analyzed ICG's technical attributes through technology documentation and relevant databases. We performed a systematic literature review of 36 studies to assess the clinical effectiveness and safety of ICG. We obtained organizational insights from clinicians and the clinical engineer involved in the study. We applied Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing (TDABC) and Budget Impact Analysis (BIA) to estimate the economic impact of ICG. The ethical, legal, and social implications of ICG were considered through clinicians' inputs and technology documentation. RESULTS Our results showed that ICG had equivalent or superior clinical effectiveness compared to TC-99 and BD, with minimal adverse events. ICG simplified the surgical pathways, by streamlining procedures, reducing waiting times, and increasing flexibility in scheduling surgeries. Moreover, the TDABC analysis showed significant cost reductions by avoiding the need for pre-operative lymphoscintigraphy and hospitalization, with average savings per single care pathway of around 18% for ICG compared to TC-99. Finally, ICG improved patient experience, and proved regulatory compliance. CONCLUSIONS This study provided strong evidence for ICG's clinical and economic value for SLNB in breast cancer. It ascertained ICG as a valuable alternative to conventional tracers, ensuring clinical effectiveness along with economic and organizational benefits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Pinelli
- Department of Management, Economics and Industrial Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy
| | - Chiara Gerardi
- Istituto Di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, Milano, Italy
| | - Emanuele Lettieri
- Department of Management, Economics and Industrial Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy
| | - Madalina Maioru
- Department of Management, Economics and Industrial Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy
| | - Laura Marone
- Department of Management, Economics and Industrial Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy
| | - Lorenzo Bertoldi
- Oncology Department Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Integrata (AOUI) Verona, Complex Operative Unit (UOC) Breast Surgery, Breast Unit, Verona, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Navanteri
- Clinical Engineering (IRCCS Istituto Nazionale Tumori Regina Elena—Roma, Italy), Roma, Italy
| | - Maurizio Costantini
- Department Breast Surgery (IRCCS Istituto Nazionale Tumori Regina Elena—Roma, Italy), Roma, Italy
| | - Claudio Botti
- Department Breast Surgery (IRCCS Istituto Nazionale Tumori Regina Elena—Roma, Italy), Roma, Italy
| | - Francesca Pellini
- Oncology Department Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Integrata (AOUI) Verona, Complex Operative Unit (UOC) Breast Surgery, Breast Unit, Verona, Italy
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White KP, Sinagra D, Dip F, Rosenthal RJ, Mueller EA, Lo Menzo E, Rancati A. Indocyanine green fluorescence versus blue dye, technetium-99M, and the dual-marker combination of technetium-99M + blue dye for sentinel lymph node detection in early breast cancer-meta-analysis including consistency analysis. Surgery 2024; 175:963-973. [PMID: 38097484 DOI: 10.1016/j.surg.2023.10.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2023] [Revised: 10/13/2023] [Accepted: 10/25/2023] [Indexed: 03/17/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Axillary sentinel lymph node biopsies are standard of care in patients with breast cancer and no clinically apparent metastases. Traditionally, technetium-99m, blue dye, or both have been used to identify sentinel lymph nodes. However, blue dyes miss up to 40% of sentinel lymph nodes, while technetium-99m use is complex, costly, and exposes patients to radiation. Over the past decade, studies have consistently found the biologically inert fluorescent indocyanine green to be 95% to 100% sensitive in detecting breast cancer sentinel lymph nodes, yet indocyanine green remains infrequently used. METHODS We conducted an extensive meta-analysis comparing indocyanine green against blue dye, technetium-99m, and the dual-marker combination of technetium-99m + BD. Unlike prior meta-analyses that only assessed either per-case or per-node sentinel lymph node detection, we analyzed the following 5 metrics: per-case and per-node sentinel lymph node detection and metastasis-positive sentinel lymph node sensitivity, and mean number of sentinel lymph nodes/case. We further examined the consistency and magnitude of between-study superiority and statistically significant within-study superiority of each marker against others. RESULTS For every metric and analysis approach, indocyanine green was clearly superior to blue dye and at least non-inferior, if not superior, to technetium-99m and technetium-99m + blue dye. Assessing the consistency of superiority by at least 2.0%, indocyanine green was superior to blue dye 73 times versus 1, to technetium-99m 42 times versus 9, and to technetium-99m + blue dye 6 times versus 0. Within-study statistically significant differences favored indocyanine green over blue dye 29 times versus 0 and over technetium-99m 11 times versus 2. DISCUSSION For sentinel lymph node detection in patients with breast cancer with no clinically apparent metastases, indocyanine green is clearly and consistently superior to blue dye and either non-inferior or superior to technetium-99m and technetium-99m + blue dye.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin P White
- ScienceRight International Health Research, London, Canada
| | - Diego Sinagra
- Hospital de Clínicas Jose de San Martín, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Fernando Dip
- Hospital de Clínicas Jose de San Martín, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | | | - Edgar A Mueller
- Institute for Clinical Pharmacology, Medical Faculty, Technical University, Dresden, Germany
| | | | - Alberto Rancati
- Hospital de Clínicas Jose de San Martín, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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Akrida I, Michalopoulos NV, Lagadinou M, Papadoliopoulou M, Maroulis I, Mulita F. An Updated Review on the Emerging Role of Indocyanine Green (ICG) as a Sentinel Lymph Node Tracer in Breast Cancer. Cancers (Basel) 2023; 15:5755. [PMID: 38136301 PMCID: PMC10742210 DOI: 10.3390/cancers15245755] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2023] [Revised: 12/04/2023] [Accepted: 12/06/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) has become the standard of care for clinically node-negative breast cancer and has recently been shown by clinical trials to be also feasible for clinically node-positive patients treated with primary systemic therapy. The dual technique using both radioisotope (RI) and blue dye (BD) as tracers for the identification of sentinel lymph nodes is considered the gold standard. However, allergic reactions to blue dye as well as logistics issues related to the use of radioactive agents, have led to research on new sentinel lymph node (SLN) tracers and to the development and introduction of novel techniques in the clinical practice. Indocyanine green (ICG) is a water-soluble dye with fluorescent properties in the near-infrared (NIR) spectrum. ICG has been shown to be safe and effective as a tracer during SLNB for breast cancer and accumulating evidence suggests that ICG is superior to BD and at least comparable to RI alone and to RI combined with BD. Thus, ICG was recently proposed as a reliable SLN tracer in some breast cancer clinical practice guidelines. Nevertheless, there is lack of consensus regarding the optimal role of ICG for SLN mapping. Specifically, it is yet to be determined whether ICG should be used in addition to BD and/or RI, or if ICG could potentially replace these long-established traditional SLN tracers. This article is an updated overview of somerecent studies that compared ICG with BD and/or RI regarding their accuracy and effectiveness during SLNB for breast cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ioanna Akrida
- Department of Surgery, General University Hospital of Patras, 26504 Rio, Greece; (I.A.); (I.M.)
| | - Nikolaos V. Michalopoulos
- 4th Department of Surgery, Attikon University Hospital, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 1 Rimini Street, Chaidari, 12462 Athens, Greece; (N.V.M.); (M.P.)
| | - Maria Lagadinou
- Department of Internal Medicine, General University Hospital of Patras, 26504 Rio, Greece;
| | - Maria Papadoliopoulou
- 4th Department of Surgery, Attikon University Hospital, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 1 Rimini Street, Chaidari, 12462 Athens, Greece; (N.V.M.); (M.P.)
| | - Ioannis Maroulis
- Department of Surgery, General University Hospital of Patras, 26504 Rio, Greece; (I.A.); (I.M.)
| | - Francesk Mulita
- Department of Surgery, General University Hospital of Patras, 26504 Rio, Greece; (I.A.); (I.M.)
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Di Paola V, Mazzotta G, Conti M, Palma S, Orsini F, Mola L, Ferrara F, Longo V, Bufi E, D'Angelo A, Panico C, Clauser P, Belli P, Manfredi R. Image-Guided Localization Techniques for Metastatic Axillary Lymph Nodes in Breast Cancer; What Radiologists Should Know. Cancers (Basel) 2023; 15:cancers15072130. [PMID: 37046791 PMCID: PMC10093304 DOI: 10.3390/cancers15072130] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2023] [Revised: 03/31/2023] [Accepted: 03/31/2023] [Indexed: 04/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Targeted axillary dissection (TAD) is an axillary staging technique after NACT that involves the removal of biopsy-proven metastatic lymph nodes in addition to sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB). This technique avoids the morbidity of traditional axillary lymph node dissection and has shown a lower false-negative rate than SLNB alone. Therefore, marking positive axillary lymph nodes before NACT is critical in order to locate and remove them in the subsequent surgery. Current localization methods include clip placement with intraoperative ultrasound, carbon-suspension liquids, localization wires, radioactive tracer-based localizers, magnetic seeds, radar reflectors, and radiofrequency identification devices. The aim of this paper is to illustrate the management of axillary lymph nodes based on current guidelines and explain the features of axillary lymph node markers, with relative advantages and disadvantages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valerio Di Paola
- Department of Bioimaging, Radiation Oncology and Hematology, UOC of Radiodiagnostica Presidio Columbus, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCSS, Largo A. Gemelli 8, 00168 Rome, Italy
| | - Giorgio Mazzotta
- Institute of Radiology, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Largo A. Gemelli 8, 00168 Rome, Italy
| | - Marco Conti
- Department of Bioimaging, Radiation Oncology and Hematology, UOC of Radiologia Toracica e Cardiovascolare, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCSS, Largo A. Gemelli 8, 00168 Rome, Italy
| | - Simone Palma
- Department of Bioimaging, Radiation Oncology and Hematology, UOC of Radiodiagnostica Presidio Columbus, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCSS, Largo A. Gemelli 8, 00168 Rome, Italy
| | - Federico Orsini
- Institute of Radiology, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Largo A. Gemelli 8, 00168 Rome, Italy
| | - Laura Mola
- Institute of Radiology, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Largo A. Gemelli 8, 00168 Rome, Italy
| | - Francesca Ferrara
- Institute of Radiology, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Largo A. Gemelli 8, 00168 Rome, Italy
| | - Valentina Longo
- Institute of Radiology, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Largo A. Gemelli 8, 00168 Rome, Italy
| | - Enida Bufi
- Department of Bioimaging, Radiation Oncology and Hematology, UOC of Radiologia Toracica e Cardiovascolare, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCSS, Largo A. Gemelli 8, 00168 Rome, Italy
| | - Anna D'Angelo
- Department of Bioimaging, Radiation Oncology and Hematology, UOC of Radiologia Toracica e Cardiovascolare, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCSS, Largo A. Gemelli 8, 00168 Rome, Italy
| | - Camilla Panico
- Department of Bioimaging, Radiation Oncology and Hematology, UOC of Radiologia Toracica e Cardiovascolare, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCSS, Largo A. Gemelli 8, 00168 Rome, Italy
| | - Paola Clauser
- Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-Guided Radiotherapy, Division of Molecular and Gender Imaging, Medical University of Vienna, Waehringer Guertel 18-20, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Paolo Belli
- Institute of Radiology, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Largo A. Gemelli 8, 00168 Rome, Italy
- Department of Bioimaging, Radiation Oncology and Hematology, UOC of Radiologia Toracica e Cardiovascolare, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCSS, Largo A. Gemelli 8, 00168 Rome, Italy
| | - Riccardo Manfredi
- Department of Bioimaging, Radiation Oncology and Hematology, UOC of Radiodiagnostica Presidio Columbus, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCSS, Largo A. Gemelli 8, 00168 Rome, Italy
- Institute of Radiology, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Largo A. Gemelli 8, 00168 Rome, Italy
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