Wire-guided surgery may help doctors find hidden cancer spots in the neck
NCT ID NCT07672912
First seen Jun 29, 2026 · Last updated Jul 08, 2026 · Updated 3 times
Summary
This study tests whether placing a thin wire into a hard-to-feel neck lump before surgery helps doctors remove it more quickly and accurately than using ultrasound alone. Fifty adults with neck lesions suspicious for cancer spread will be randomly assigned to one of the two methods. The goal is to see which approach leads to shorter operations, smaller cuts, and fewer complications.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Ultrasound-guided hook-wire localization
- What this could lead to
- If hook-wire guidance proves better, it could become a standard technique for removing hard-to-find neck lesions, reducing surgery time and improving accuracy.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-stage trial with only 50 participants, so results may not apply broadly. The hook-wire procedure also carries a small risk of bleeding or infection.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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50 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Apr 2021
- Finished
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Jun 2026
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Adults aged ≥18 years * Patients with a cervical lesion or lymph node suspicious for malignancy based on fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) and/or fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG PET/CT) findings. * Patients scheduled for surgical excision in general anesthesia of a non-palpable or difficult-to-palpate cervical lesion for definitive histopathological diagnosis. * Patients able to provide informed consent. Exclusion Criteria: * Patients undergoing procedures planned under local anesthesia only. * Patients not meeting the predefined surgical criteria for excision of a target cervical lesion. * Patients with palpable cervical lesions suitable for direct surgical identification and excision without imaging guidance * Patients unable to provide informed consent.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Karolinska University Hospital
Stockholm, Stockholm County, 17176, Sweden