THE USE OF SURGICAL CLIPS FOR TUMOUR LOCALIZATION IN BREAST CANCER PATIENTS RECEIVING NEOADJUVANT CHEMOTHERAPY PLANNED FOR BREAST CONSERVATION SURGERY- A CASE REPORT

Syed Aaqid Siraj, Dr. Anshika Arora*, Dr. Jacob Sheeja and Dr. Gaurav Mangalam Pandey

ABSTRACT

Radiopaque marker localization of the tumour bed (TB) before neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) in breast cancer patients is the recommended technique since it helps in accurate tumour localization at the time of breast conservation surgery. However, the high cost of commercial tumour markers give rise to significant financial toxicity to patients in low and middle income countries. We describe the case of a 58-year-old woman who was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), early stage and node negative. In an effort to reduce the expense of treatment, we used titanium surgical clips in place of the commercial tumour markers, prior to NACT using bone marrow aspiration needle using palpation method. The usage of surgical clips is a highly valuable tool with limited complications and more importantly, are significantly less expensive than commercial breast tumour clips.

Keywords: breast neoplasm, tumour localization, surgical clip, breast conservation surgery, case report.