Background: This study is a systematic review with meta-analysis comparing radioactive seed localization (RSL) versus radio-guided occult lesion localization (ROLL) and wire-guided localization (WGL) for patients with impalpable breast cancer undergoing breast-conserving surgery and evaluating efficacy, safety, and logistical outcomes. The protocol is registered in PROSPERO with the number CRD42022299726. Methods: A search was conducted in the Embase, Lilacs, Pubmed, Scielo, Web of Science, and clinicaltrials.gov databases, in addition to a manual search in the reference list of relevant articles, for randomized clinical trials and cohort studies. Studies selected were submitted to their own data extraction forms and risk of bias analysis according to the ROB 2 and ROBINS 1 tools. A meta-analysis was performed, considering the random effect model, calculating the relative risk or the mean difference for dichotomous or continuous data, respectively. The quality of the evidence generated was analyzed by outcome according to the GRADE tool. Overall, 46 articles met the inclusion criteria and were included in this systematic review; of these, 4 studies compared RSL and ROLL with a population of 1550 women, and 43 compared RSL and WGL with a population of 19,820 women. Results: The results showed that RSL is a superior method to WGL in terms of surgical efficiency in the impalpable breast lesions’ intraoperative localization, and it is at least equivalent to ROLL. Regarding security, RSL obtained results equivalent to the already established technique, the WGL. In addition to presenting promising results, RSL has been proven to be superior to WGL and ROLL technologies.

Background: The radioactive seed localization (RSL) is used in impalpable breast cancer conservative surgery to assist the surgeon in accurately locating and excising the lesion site. This study aims to present recommendations about the RSL program implementation in health institutions that perform breast cancer conservative surgery with intraoperative localization. Methods: An extensive literature review was performed. It comprehends: the committee responsible for implementation of the program actions; description of the necessary multidisciplinary team; the radiological safety committee role; the facility licensing; professionals training; material and instrumentation associated with the technique; and seed tracking system. Results: 13 topics are presented. The Program Implementation Committee must be formed by leaders from each department. The committee assumes responsibility for evaluating the necessary processes and presenting the schedule for program implementation. Since the procedure is classified as a nuclear medicine procedure it requires licensing. The Professional Team Formation, Education, and Training is a priority and simulation exercises are necessary. The Materials and Instrumentation Associated with the Technique must be well-know by the team and they should practice using radiation detectors. The seed must be always tracked, from moment they are received to discard. An Inventory for Tracking Seeds is provided. The Radiological Safety Aspects such as the ALARA principle are presented. A full description for the Radiological Procedure for Placing the seeds, the surgical removal and the Specimen Handling in Pathology focusing on how to locate the seed and retrieve them. After removed, the seeds can be placed in storage to wait for full radioactive decay or be returned to the manufacturer. Conclusions: The procedure has the advantage to increase to 2 months the time between insertion of the seed and the surgical removal. Regular multidisciplinary team meetings during program development are important to create a realistic timeline, having briefing meetings after the first 1-5 RSL cases and having annual or biannual follow-up meetings to discuss any issues or incidents. Highlights:

Background: Pulmonary artery trunk aneurysm (PATA) is a rare and complex vascular anomaly characterized by the abnormal dilation of the initial portion of the pulmonary artery, posing significant diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. Purpose: This clinical case report aims to describe the follow-up of a patient with PATA, emphasizing the role of imaging in diagnosis and monitoring, as well as discussing potential associations with other conditions. Research Design: The study is designed as a clinical case report, detailing the longitudinal follow-up of a single patient with PATA. Study Sample: The subject of this study is a 48-year-old female patient with a history of idiopathic hypertension who developed a PATA. Data Collection and/or Analysis: Since 2010, the patient underwent various imaging exams, including echocardiography, computed tomography, and catheter angiography, to detect and evaluate the aneurysm at different stages. Results: The imaging results indicated a progression of the aneurysm over time, underscoring the importance of imaging in the early identification and monitoring of PATA. The report also explores the possible association of PATA with conditions such as pulmonary hypertension, Behçet’s disease, and Hughes-Stovin syndrome, highlighting the diagnostic complexity. Conclusions: Imaging diagnosis is crucial for the detection, characterization, and monitoring of PATA, providing essential information for selecting appropriate treatment options and achieving a satisfactory prognosis. An individualized treatment approach, considering both medical and surgical options, is necessary based on the clinical characteristics of each patient.

The conservative surgery for impalpable breast cancer requires an intraoperative localization method that guides the identification and correct excision of the lesion. The aim of this study is to comparatively analyze two intraoperative breast localization technologies, wire guided localization (WGL) and radioactive seed localization (RSL), regarding their surgical efficacy through the outcomes of surgical margins, intraoperative re-excision, reoperation and recurrence. To this end, a systematic search was realized in databases for clinical trials that match with the study eligibility criteria. The selected studies were evaluated for their methodological quality; the data were then collected and quantitatively synthesized. The results comprised thirty-eight studies that match the eligibility criteria. The main outcomes reported demonstrating that the RSL is at least equivalent to the WGL in efficiency rates. These results confirm the method applicability for impalpable breast lesions surgery in an effective way, in addition to presenting organizational optimization of radiology and surgery services by allowing the surgery to be performed up to two months after seed implantation.

Introduction Non-palpable breast cancers require intraoperative localization to guide the surgical procedure. The radio-guided occult lesion localization (ROLL) and radioactive seed localization (RSL) techniques use radioactive material (technetium-99m labeled macroaggregated albumin and iodine-125 seeds, respectively) implanted at the lesion site. The success of conservative surgery depends on complete tumor excision with negative surgical margins. The objective of this study was to perform a meta-analysis of the surgical effectiveness of the ROLL and RSL techniques with respect to rates of positive surgical margins, reoperation, and recurrence. Methods A systematic search of the PubMed, Embase, LILACS, SciELO, and Web of Science databases was performed on 2 August 2021. A standard form was used to extract data from the studies selected in the screening process. The ROBINS-I tool was used to analyze risk of bias and RevMan 5.4 software was used to perform the meta-analysis. Results Four observational studies met the inclusion criteria. The overall evidence quality was moderate. The studies included women aged from 28 to 91 years with non-palpable breast cancer. The results demonstrated similar effectiveness between RSL and ROLL for rates of positive surgical margins (risk ratio [RR] 0.83, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.50, 1.39; 763 patients) and reoperation (RR 1.14, 95% CI: 0.75, 1.74; 1,550 patients). Regarding the rate of disease recurrence, RSL was superior to ROLL (RR 0.50, 95% CI: 0.29, 0.87; 939 patients). Conclusions The results demonstrate that the ROLL and RSL techniques are equivalent with respect to rates of positive surgical margins and reoperation, although patients undergoing RSL had lower rates of disease recurrence. However, there is a tendency to favor the RSL technique because of the longer interval between implantation and surgery, which is possible due to the longer half-life of iodine-125 (59.4 days). This also means that radioactive seed implantation can occur before neoadjuvant chemotherapy, so the tumor bed remains marked if further interventions are required, obviating the need for another invasive procedure before surgery.