Breast cancer: NICE recommends innovative magnetic technology for locating sentinel lymph nodes

A magnetic liquid tracer and a handheld sensing probe are now recommended as an option to help surgeons establish whether breast cancer has spread.

Hospitals with limited or no access to a radiopharmacy department could particularly benefit from the Magtrace and Sentimag system, said draft guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).1 The new technology could also reduce the reliance on having radioactive isotopes shipped into the country, meaning that patients may have to travel less for biopsies.

Magtrace is a non-radioactive, dark brown liquid that is both a magnetic …