Breast Cancer — Axillary Staging in Early Breast Cancer: SNB vs PET/MRI
Citation(s)
Gentilini O, Veronesi U Staging the Axilla in Early Breast Cancer: Will Imaging Replace Surgery? JAMA Oncol. 2015 Nov;1(8):1031-2. doi: 10.1001/jamaoncol.2015.2337. No abstract available.
Pilewskie M, Jochelson M, Gooch JC, Patil S, Stempel M, Morrow M Is Preoperative Axillary Imaging Beneficial in Identifying Clinically Node-Negative Patients Requiring Axillary Lymph Node Dissection? J Am Coll Surg. 2016 Feb;222(2):138-45. doi: 10.1016/j.jamcollsurg.2015.11.013. Epub 2015 Nov 25.
Stadnik TW, Everaert H, Makkat S, Sacre R, Lamote J, Bourgain C Breast imaging. Preoperative breast cancer staging: comparison of USPIO-enhanced MR imaging and 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDC) positron emission tomography (PET) imaging for axillary lymph node staging--initial findings. Eur Radiol. 2006 Oct;16(10):2153-60. doi: 10.1007/s00330-006-0276-4. Epub 2006 May 3.
Taneja S, Jena A, Goel R, Sarin R, Kaul S Simultaneous whole-body (1)(8)F-FDG PET-MRI in primary staging of breast cancer: a pilot study. Eur J Radiol. 2014 Dec;83(12):2231-2239. doi: 10.1016/j.ejrad.2014.09.008. Epub 2014 Sep 28.
Interventional studies are often prospective and are specifically tailored to evaluate direct impacts of treatment or preventive measures on disease.
Observational studies are often retrospective and are used to assess potential causation in exposure-outcome relationships and therefore influence preventive methods.
Expanded access is a means by which manufacturers make investigational new drugs available, under certain circumstances, to treat a patient(s) with a serious disease or condition who cannot participate in a controlled clinical trial.
Clinical trials are conducted in a series of steps, called phases - each phase is designed to answer a separate research question.
Phase 1: Researchers test a new drug or treatment in a small group of people for the first time to evaluate its safety, determine a safe dosage range, and identify side effects.
Phase 2: The drug or treatment is given to a larger group of people to see if it is effective and to further evaluate its safety.
Phase 3: The drug or treatment is given to large groups of people to confirm its effectiveness, monitor side effects, compare it to commonly used treatments, and collect information that will allow the drug or treatment to be used safely.
Phase 4: Studies are done after the drug or treatment has been marketed to gather information on the drug's effect in various populations and any side effects associated with long-term use.