Moffitt Shares Sentinel Node Biopsy Techniques In Asia; College Of Surgeons Taps Moffitt To Provide Training

11/7/2002

From: H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, 813-632-1478

TAMPA, Fla., Nov. 7 -- The American College of Surgeons has asked H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute to conduct a special pilot study to see if mentoring improves the understanding of physicians who are newly trained in a pioneering breast cancer surgery technique.

Charles Cox, M.D., founder of the Comprehensive Breast Cancer Program at Moffitt, has trained 2,000 doctors around the world in sentinel node biopsy, a method that often that spares breast cancer patients extensive surgery.

This new, special course -- funded by the Philadelphia Health Trust and Foundation for Advanced Medical Education -- will determine whether the addition of mentoring makes a difference. The course will lay the groundwork for credentialing surgeons in lymphatic mapping.

"We are honored to have been chosen the training site because of our patient volume in sentinel node biopsy and the fact that we have trained more physicians in the procedure since 1995 than any other institution," Cox says. "After performing several cases, the newly trained physician will be coached in his or her own operating room by a mentor who will then evaluate the trainee's skills, and the data will be sent to a registry at Duke University."

Claire Modarelli, Course Administrator for Moffitt's Center for Minimally Invasive Surgical Techniques training program, explains: "We will show live, televised surgery from our operating room as well as from the Nashville Breast Center and possibly another location in Houston or Annapolis."

In addition, Cox is a keynote speaker in the Breast Cancer session at the World Congress on Sentinel Node Biopsy in Yokohama, Japan, Nov. 15-18. His lecture will also cover his work in development of the radioactive seed implant technology.

The lymphatic mapping procedure is used during surgery to accurately determine if the cancer has spread. The procedure involves injecting a dye and a radioactive substance around the tumor site, then tracing the path to the lymph node most likely to be the site of any metastasis. Only if the sentinel nodes are cancerous are they removed. Traditional methods involve more extensive surgery, which increases pain, recovery time and rehabilitation needs.

In 2001 the National Cancer Institute awarded Moffitt the status of a Comprehensive Cancer Center -- in recognition of its excellence in research and contributions to clinical trials, prevention and cancer control.