magnetic detection, innovative solution for breast cancer

It is cutting-edge equipment, a recent innovation that is still little used in France. The magnetic detection system is joining the surgical team at Blois hospital treating breast cancer. Its technology makes it possible to detect very small cancerous lesions and, above all, will avoid invasive manipulations which may be unpleasant for the patient. It will also make the precision of the surgical procedure optimal.

“This device makes it possible to identify the lesion preoperatively, explains Dr Étienne Roussel, who has been operating on breast cancer for 18 years in Blois. Until now, we had to put in place a small metal wire under anesthesia, very shortly before the operation. This can be painful and requires arrangement with a radiologist just before the procedure. With this technology, the wire is replaced by a chip held in the opening of a needle, which can be inserted several days or several weeks before, including from the macrobiopsy. »

“We are in a surgical de-escalation”

The device then allows the surgeon, during the procedure, to find the fine area where the chip is located. “Currently and thanks to screenings, we are removing very small lesions. For those that are more important and palpable, we try to melt them through treatment before removing them, which avoids damaging the breast”specifies Dr. Roussel. This means that of the 190 interventions performed on average per year at the CHB for breast cancer, 70% will be affected by this technology. “Technical advances have been very significant in recent decades in the treatment of breast cancer, with more screening, early treatment and individualized therapies. We are in a surgical de-escalation and I hope that in 20 years, we will no longer need to operate on breast cancer. »

In the meantime, the CHB team tries to implement the least invasive surgery possible. Magnetic detection helps improve the comfort of patients who will be more than 90% cured at the end of the course. If this innovation remains underdeveloped, it is mainly because it remains expensive. In Blois, the solution was found through sponsorship. “The idea for the Trees of Hope was born from a Rotarian who had lost his wife to cancerexplains Albert Rillet, vice-president of Sapins du Coeur and president of Rotary Blois Sologne. By planting and selling fir trees, over the past thirty years we have donated more than 1.6 million euros to hospitals in the region. This year, we wanted a local action and we asked the doctors in Blois what would be useful to them. »

The association therefore financed the device at a cost of €15,000 and officially handed it over on Friday January 17 to the outpatient surgery department. “We devote a large part of our budget to renewing the equipment of each servicespecifies Louis Courcol, who is interim director of the Blois hospital center. This sponsorship action allows the acquisition of innovative equipment, which will improve the quality of life of our patients. It makes sense and every donation makes a difference. »