A study presented at this year’s European Congress of Radiology has concluded that adding digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) is emerging as promising technology for surgical planning, as it offers a better view of lesion margins than mammography alone, said Dr. Alessia Milan from the University of Turin.  

The 5-year long study of 925 breast cancer patients demonstrated that the use of DBT can reduce re-excision rates by up to 50%.  

"Margin status is one of the most important predictors for local recurrence following breast cancer surgery, and accurate preoperative staging helps to plan appropriate surgical treatment and reduce the consequences of re-excision," Dr. Milan told meeting attendees. "These consequences can include emotional burden for the patient, a worse cosmetic outcome, and higher costs."  

The latest tool to use digital tomosynthesis to drive a reduction in positive margins is the Mozart® System with TomoSpec® Technology from Kubtec®, the first and only 3-D specimen tomosynthesis system designed specifically for intraoperative use.  

Rather than producing a single 2-D planar view of multiple tissue layers, the Mozart System uses 3-D Tomosynthesis technology to eliminate tissue interference by digitally removing overlying or underlying tissue in 1mm slices. This means that potential extensions of the cancer, radiating laterally or deep to the lesion, can be seen with greater clarity, helping to decrease the risk of positive margins and optimizing the cosmetic outcome of the procedure.  

The Mozart System uses digital tomosynthesis to provide a three dimensional solution to a three dimensional problem during the treatment stage of breast cancer.