Cost and Budget Impact Analysis of an Accurate Intraoperative Sentinel Lymph Node Diagnosis for Breast Cancer Metastasis

Intraoperative detection of axillary metastasis of breast cancer using nucleic acid amplification methods: review of advantages and limitations

INTRODUCTION

In the management of breast cancer, the need for assessment of axillary status has been questionable in recent years. However, it is still applicable for making a decision on adjuvant therapy and evaluating the prognosis. Molecular tests have been widely used for intraoperative detection of axillary lymph node metastases and have prevented a second surgery for dissection of the lymph nodes in at least 20% of the cases. Unlike histopathological examination, molecular tests do not need a specialized technologist to provide the results.

AREAS COVERED

We have reviewed recent advancements in the assessment of axillary nodes by molecular studies such as one-step nucleic acid amplification (OSNA) assay and metasin test. Our work concentrated on reported thresholds for the tests, economical aspects, and newly developed devices throughout the current literature.

EXPERT OPINION

Well-designed clinical trials on molecular assays could lead to individualized management of the axillary, while preventing additional surgical operations in a large proportion of women with breast cancer.

Evaluation of One Step Nucleic Acid Amplification for detection of lymph node metastases compared to histopathological ultrastaging in women with endometrial cancer: a protocol for a diagnostic accuracy study

BACKGROUND

This is a multicentre, European, prospective trial evaluating the diagnostic accuracy of One Step Nucleic Acid Amplification (OSNA) compared to sentinel lymph nodes histopathological ultrastaging in endometrial cancer patients.

METHODS

Centres with expertise in sentinel lymph node mapping in endometrial cancer patients in Europe will be invited to participate in the study. Participating units will be trained on the correct usage of the OSNA RD-210 analyser and nucleic acid amplification reagent kit LYNOAMP CK19 E for rapid detection of metastatic nodal involvement, based on the cytokeratin 19 (CK19) mRNA detection. Endometrial cancer patients ≥ 18 years listed for surgical treatment with sentinel lymph node mapping, with no history of other types of cancer and who provide a valid written consent will be considered potentially eligible for the study. However, they will only be enrolled if a successful sentinel lymph node mapping is retrieved. Each node will be processed according to the study protocol and assessed by both OSNA and ultrastaging.

DISCUSSION

The accuracy of OSNA (index test) will be assessed against sentinel lymph node histopathological ultrastaging (reference test). This European study has the potential to be the largest study on the use of OSNA in endometrial cancer to date. OSNA could represent a modern diagnostic alternative to sentinel lymph node ultrastaging with the added benefits of standardisation and fast results.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

The study was registered in the German Clinical Trial Register - Nr. DRKS00021520, registration date 25th of May 2020, URL of the trial registry record: https://drks.de/search/en/trial/DRKS00021520 .

NUF2 Expression in Cancer Tissues and Lymph Nodes Suggests Post-Surgery Recurrence of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

In non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cases, detecting potential lymph node metastases is essential to determine the indications for sublobar resection or adjuvant therapy. NUF2 is a tumor-specific antigen that is highly expressed in lung cancer tissues. However, the significance of analyzing NUF2 expression in dissected lymph nodes has not yet been studied. Thus, we investigated the association between NUF2 expression in lung cancer tissues and dissected lymph nodes and early recurrence of NSCLC to determine its usefulness as a marker of lymph node micrometastasis. This retrospective study quantified NUF2 expression in the cancer tissues of 88 patients with NSCLC who underwent complete resection using real-time polymerase chain reaction and investigated its relationship with clinicopathological features and prognosis. We also quantified NUF2 RNA expression in mediastinal lymph nodes from 255 patients with pN0 NSCLC who underwent complete resection with lymph node dissection and analyzed its association with prognosis. NUF2 expression in primary tumors was correlated with lymph node metastasis and unfavorable outcomes in terms of poor recurrence-free and cancer-specific survival. In N0 NSCLC cases, high NUF2 expression in mediastinal lymph nodes indicated poor prognosis, especially in lymph node recurrence. NUF2 emerges as a promising marker for predicting lymph node metastatic recurrence, offering potential utility in guiding post-surgical adjuvant therapy for lung cancer or assisting in intraoperative decisions for sublobar resection.

One-Step Nucleic Acid Amplification System in Comparison to the Intraoperative Frozen Section and Definitive Histological Examination Among Breast Cancer Patients: A Retrospective Survival Study

Simple Summary

Implementing intraoperative assessment of sentinel lymph nodes by one-step nucleic acid amplification in early breast cancer can reduce the surgical burden to the patient and the costs to the health system. However, only limited data are available in terms of long-term disease-free survival and overall survival. Therefore, this study aims to compare disease-free survival and overall survival between one-step nucleic acid amplification, frozen section, and definitive histology. These results could impact the healthcare community, adding further proof to the body of evidence supporting the broader adoption of this innovative technology that enables a safe reduction in patient surgical burden and healthcare costs.

Background

The one-step nucleic acid amplification (OSNA) system is a novel molecular technique, which consents to quick intraoperative detection of sentinel lymph node metastases by the amplification of cytokeratin 19 mRNA. Our study aims to evaluate the OSNA method in comparison with frozen section (FS) and definitive histological examination of the sentinel lymph node biopsy among early breast cancer patients considering disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS).

Methods

In this study, we included all women who underwent sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) for breast cancers classified as TNM stage I and II in our center between January 2005 and January 2017, and the follow-up was collected up to January 2019. We divided patients among three groups based on SLNB evaluation: definitive histological examination, intra-operative FS, or OSNA.

Results

We included 2412 SLNBs: 727 by definitive histological examination, 697 by FS, and 988 by OSNA. Isolated tumor cells were found in 2.32% of cases, micrometastasis in 9.12%, and macrometastases in 13.64%. Surgical procedure duration was significantly shorter in OSNA than in FS (42.1 minutes ±5.1 vs. 70.1 minutes ±10.5, p <0.05). No significant differences have been observed among the three groups regarding OS, DSF, cumulative local, or distant metastases. In particular 5-year DFS was 96.38% in definitive histology (95% C.I. 95.02-97.75%), 96.37% in FS (95% C.I. 94.98-97.78%), and 96.51% in OSNA group (95% C.I. 95.32-97.72%).

Conclusions

No difference in OS and DFS was found comparing OSNA, FS, and definitive histology. Furthermore, reduced operative time was found in the OSNA group.

The Diagnostic Accuracy of One-Step Nucleic Acid Amplification for Lymph Node Metastases of Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma： A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND

One-step nucleic acid amplification (OSNA) analysis is a molecular diagnostic technique for lymph node metastases (LNMs) by quantifying cytokeratin 19(CK 19) mRNA. We aim to evaluate the intraoperative diagnostic accuracy of OSNA assay for LNMs of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC).

METHODS

PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science databases were searched to retrieve related literature. A meta-analysis was performed using STATA11.0, Meta-Disc 1.4 and RevMan 5.3.

RESULTS

This meta-analysis included six studies involving 987 lymph nodes from 194 patients. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, and area under the summary receiver-operating characteristic curve (AUC) of OSNA for detecting LNM were 0.88, 0.90, and 0.95, respectively.

CONCLUSION

OSNA assay is an accurate molecular diagnosis for intraoperative detection of lymph node metastasis in PTC.

One-step nucleic acid amplification CK19 copy number for sentinel node biopsy in breast cancer: Identification of new cutoffs to predict nonsentinel axillary node involvement

We evaluated novel sentinel node values in breast cancer for one-step nucleic acid amplification (OSNA) to predict further nodal involvement using various methods in clinically node-negative disease with a positive OSNA result and subsequent axillary node dissection. 239 patients (118 macrometastatic) were assessed revealing cutoffs of total tumor load (TTL) 44 500 copies/µL (AUROC 0.793); average copy number (ACN) 9450 (AUROC 0.790); and highest copy number (HCN) 46,000. For macrometastatic patients only: TTL 221 400 copies/µL (AUROC 0.685); ACN 64,000 (AUROC 0.671); HCN 59 500 (AUROC 0.529). Our data favor TTL and represent one of the largest OSNA macrometastatic predictive series.

Budget Impact Analysis of Molecular Lymph Node Staging Versus Conventional Histopathology Staging in Colorectal Carcinoma

BACKGROUND

The presence of lymph node (LN) metastasis is a critical prognostic factor in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients and is also an indicator for adjuvant chemotherapy. The gold standard (GS) technique for LN diagnosis and staging is based on the analysis of haematoxylin and eosin (H&E)-stained slides, but its sensitivity is low. As a result, patients may not be properly diagnosed and some may have local recurrence or distant metastases after curative-intent surgery. Many of these diagnostic and treatment problems could be avoided if the one-step nucleic acid amplification assay (OSNA) was used rather than the GS technique. OSNA is a fast, automated, standardised, highly sensitive, quantitative technique for detecting LN metastases.

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to assess the budget impact of introducing OSNA LN analysis in early-stage CRC patients in the Spanish National Health System (NHS).

METHODS

A budget impact analysis comparing two scenarios (GS vs. OSNA) was developed within the Spanish NHS framework over a 3-year time frame (2017-2019). The patient population consisted of newly diagnosed CRC patients undergoing surgical treatment, and the following costs were included: initial surgery, pathological diagnosis, staging, follow-up expenses, systemic treatment and surgery after recurrence. One- and two-way sensitivity analyses were performed.

RESULTS

Using OSNA instead of the GS would have saved €1,509,182, €6,854,501 and €10,814,082 during the first, second and third years of the analysis, respectively, because patients incur additional costs in later years, leading to savings of more than €19 million for the NHS over the 3-year time horizon.

CONCLUSIONS

Introducing OSNA in CRC LN analysis may represent not only an economic benefit for the NHS but also a clinical benefit for CRC patients since a more accurate staging could be performed, thus avoiding unnecessary treatments.

One-step nucleic acid amplification: the possible value in assessing sentinel lymph node metastasis during mastectomy

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women, worldwide, and 1,400 deaths per day are attributed to it. The success of national screening programs has seen breast cancers being diagnosed at an earlier stage. With conservative surgery to the breast demonstrating equivalent long-term outcomes, the last 10 years have seen a growing interest in the safety of less invasive management for the axilla in breast cancer patients. One-step nucleic acid amplification (OSNA) is a validated, reliable, and efficient tool in identifying micro- and macro-metastases intraoperatively. It is the most widely used intraoperative analysis tool within the United Kingdom, and is employed by over 320 units across Europe and Asia. Recent evidence from the AMAROS, IBCSG 23-01, and ACOSOG Z0011 trials has changed surgical practice in managing the axilla of patients with breast cancer. We propose a clinical algorithm demonstrating the role of OSNA as an intraoperative analysis tool in today's management of breast cancer as well as prospects for the future use of OSNA.