Tiny 'seed' could offer better cancer detection and treatment

Physicians may be able to target cancers easier due to a new approval for an implantable ‘seed’ that helps locate tumours.

Originally approved for use in breast cancer, the Magseed is a magnetic market that physicians can implant in patients to accurately mark and then help remove breast tumours. 

The device, developed by medtech company Endomag, has now been given a new FDA approval for long-term use in any soft tissue. The extended indication now enables Magseed to be used to mark suspicious lymph nodes before patients undergo chemotherapy. This allows physicians to see if the cancer has spread and perform a more targeted dissection. 

“When it comes to marking lymph nodes in patients receiving neo-adjuvant chemotherapy there are very few options – wires are notoriously difficult to place and can easily migrate, often resulting in multiple lymph nodes being removed but not the one you necessarily wanted to take. It’s a huge step forward that we can now use the Magseed marker to mark lymph nodes across Europe, which will allow us to offer our patients more targeted surgery and accurate staging,” said James Harvey, consultant oncoplastic breast surgeon, Wythenshawe Hospital, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust. 

“Ever since we launched the Magseed marker we have been asked by European physicians if they can use it to mark a variety of different cancer sites in the body, which also require a longer implantation than the 30 days we had in Europe. We received this expanded indication from the FDA last year and I’m delighted that Endomag is the first to offer this same level of targeted treatment to European cancer patients,” said Eric Mayes, CEO at Endomag.

“We have been using Magseed for two years and have performed over a thousand surgeries with the technology. The ability to mark lymph nodes and ensure we remove the cancerous node to examine them closely is a huge advantage for patients, because we spare them extensive and unnecessary axillary surgery,” said Dr Abigail Caudle, associate professor, Department of Breast Surgical Oncology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston.