High-Frequency Ultrasound for Evaluating Breast Cancer Surgical Margins: Micro-Tumor Detectability Study using Histology Mimicking Phantoms

ORAL

Abstract

The ability to differentiate between malignant and normal tissues in surgical margins during breast cancer surgery would reduce the risk of local recurrence and the need for subsequent surgeries. Clinical studies conducted in collaboration between Utah Valley University and the Huntsman Cancer Institute show that high-frequency (HF) ultrasound (20-80 MHz), and the parameters peak density and attenuation, are sensitive to breast tissue pathology. Pathology results from these clinical studies showed that many margin specimens contained micro-tumors measuring 1 mm in diameter or smaller. The objective of this study was to determine the sensitivity of HF ultrasound to these micro-tumors using histology mimicking phantoms. Phantoms were created from distilled water, agarose powder, 10X TBE stock solution, and microspheres to simulate tumors. Microspheres of 925?m diameter were embedded in the phantoms singularly and in clusters ranging from 3-12 microspheres. Pitch-catch measurements were acquired using large (low-resolution, 6.35mm diameter) and small (high-resolution, 1.5mm diameter) 50-MHz transducers, a HF pulser-receiver, a 1-GHz digital oscilloscope. Both large and small transducers were sensitive to single microspheres and microsphere clusters validating the clinical studies.

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Authors

  • Nicole Cowan

    Utah Valley University

  • Zachary Coffman

    Utah Valley University

  • Robyn Omer

    Utah Valley University, None

  • Scott D. Bergesen

    Santa Fe Institute, Arizona State University, Department of Physics and Center for Biological Physics, Arizona State University, Brigham Young University Department of Physics and Astronomy, Brigham Young University, Utah Valley University, Dixie State College, Advisor, Student, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Laboratory, Colorado College, United States Air Force Academy, Georgia Institute of Technology, Utah State University, Brigham Young University - Idaho, Utah State University- Logan, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Humboldt State University, UC Santa Cruz, Institut de Chimie des Substances Naturelles, Arizona State Univ, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, National Jewish Health, Department of Physics, The University of Texas at Austin, Department of Physics, New Mexico State University, U. S. Air Force Academy, Brigham Young Univ - Provo, University of New South Wales, University of Texas, University of Warwick, University of Louisiana, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah 84602, USA., Center for Materials Genomics, Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and Department of Physics, Duke University, Durham, North Ca, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina., Brigham Young University -- Provo, Utah, General Atomics -- San Diego, California, Department of Mathematics, University of British Columbia, Department of Physics, Arizona State University, UC Riverside, UMASS, STScI, NOAO, UT Austin, Texas A&M, Arizona State Univeristy, New Mexico State Univ, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Colorado State Univ, Department of Physics, Oregon State University, Colorado School of Mines, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, The Peac Institute of Multiscale Modeling, UNSW Canberra

  • Timothy Doyle

    Utah Valley University