Velazco CS, et al. - In this work, researchers performed a comparison of the rate of positive margins for evidence of a learning curve in implementing Radioactive seed localization (RSL). They recognized radioactive seed localization as an alternative to wire localization for breast conservation surgery. They identified no learning curve for this study, indicating the technique was easily learned by breast cancer surgeons.

Methods

• Three surgeons performed a retrospective review of RSL at a single institution from 2002 to 2016.
• For this study, positive margins were defined as ink on tumor.

Results

• In this work, surgeon experience with RSL for ranged from 142 to >500 cases.
• Among the first 100 of each surgeons' experience (n = 300), the positive margin rate was 2.3% and the rate during the most recent up to 100 cases after experience with at least 100 RSL procedures (n = 242) was 4.1% (p = 0.32).
• In the early experience, individual surgeon's positive margin rates ranged from 2 to 5% and these ranged from 2–7% in the later experience (p = NS).