On July 20, 2010, a story in The Vancouver Sun revealed a case where an accidental biopsy mix up resulted in an unnecessary lumpectomy for one woman and a 10 week delay in treatment for another.
As with similar cases documented in this blog, the mix up was discovered by a pathologist performing routine post-surgical tests that revealed no cancer in the patient's tissue samples. The report states, "...DNA tests confirmed on July 16 that the woman's initial biopsy...was accidentally switched with a similar biopsy from another woman." This type of mix up is just one of many types of Specimen Provenance Complications (SPC) that can lead to diagnostic mistakes. Other examples of SPC are specimen transposition and foreign cell contamination.
Launched in the summer of 2010, the know error® system for breast biopsies brings new levels of safety and accuracy to the biopsy evaluation process. Through the use of DNA Specimen Provenance Assignment (DSPA) and bar code technology, this innovative system dramatically reduces the incidence of SPC so that diagnostic mistakes are minimized.
While the DNA tests in this case confirmed the mix up, this was unfortunately AFTER the unnecessary surgery and delay in treatment. The know error® system performs DSPA of biopsy tissue samples PRIOR to any treatment taking place and virtually eliminates diagnostic mistakes due to SPC. This allows both patient and physician to proceed confidently with treatment options based on the patient's biopsy results.
For more information about the know error® system for breast biopsies, please visit our website www.knowerror.com.
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