MarginProbe®--final results of the German post-market study in breast conserving surgery of ductal carcinoma in situ.

The goal in breast conserving surgery (BCS) of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is removal of the tumor with a clear surgical margin. However, re-excision rates are regrettably high. To date, there are no adequate procedures for intraoperative margin assessment of DCIS. A multicenter, single arm study was conducted to evaluate the benefit of a novel device (MarginProbe®) in intraoperative margin assessment during BCS of DCIS, the associated reduction of re-excisions and the cosmetic outcome of the treated patients. We present results of 42 patients enrolled in 3 German institutions. The device was used as an adjunctive tool to standard of care. The device use was associated with a reduction in re-excision rates by 56%, from 39% to 17% (p = 0.018).