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‹ Thu · 22 Oct 2026
Near-term implementable finding

Preoperative prediction of positive margins in breast-conserving surgery using an ensemble model based on DCE-MRI: a multi-center retrospective and prospective study.

A brain-imaging tool predicts risky surgical margins before breast surgery and identifies patients needing closer monitoring after treatment.

This multi-center study (887 patients across three centers) developed a DCE-MRI ensemble model integrating deep learning and radiomics to preoperatively predict positive surgical margins in breast-conserving surgery, validated prospectively. The model's dual role — predicting margin status and stratifying survival risk — provides a clinically actionable decision-support tool for surgical planning in early breast cancer.

What the study was

Study design
Multi-center retrospective and prospective cohort study
Population
887 breast cancer patients from three Chinese medical centers undergoing breast-conserving surgery
Sample size
887
Category
Diagnostics
Maturity
Validated
Journal
Breast Cancer Res

Why it surfaced

Multi-center prospective validation with AUC 0.931 and survival stratification establishes clinical readiness for breast margin prediction; directly addresses a major cause of surgical reoperation in breast cancer.

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