Radiopharmaceutical developer Navidea Biopharmaceuticals is directing attention to new research from Australia on the use of its technetium-99m (Tc-99m) tilmanocept radiopharmaceutical in patients with melanoma or oral cancer.
Researchers from the University of Sydney prospectively assessed Tc-99m tilmanocept (also known as Lymphoseek) as a biomarker for lymphatic mapping and sentinel lymph node biopsy in 35 patients. They found that lymphoscintigraphy with Tc-99m tilmanocept identified at least one sentinel lymph node in all patients and enabled a 100% intraoperative retrieval rate of these lymph nodes in all patients.
What's more, imaging with Lymphoseek demonstrated 100% tissue specificity; lymph nodal tissue was confirmed histologically and there were no false positives, according to Navidea.
The study was published July 18 in the ANZ Journal of Surgery.
