Magnetic marker liquid could be used to show if breast cancer has spread

Nice said: ‘People with breast cancer want to know if their cancer has been isolated … The earlier this is established, the better the potential outcomes will be.’ Photograph: Marina Krasnokutska/Alamy

Women with invasive breast cancer could be injected with a magnetic marker liquid to tell doctors if their disease has spread, according to a recommendation by the government’s health advisers.

The substance, called Magtrace, has been shown to locate the presence of sentinel lymph nodes, which show if the cancer has progressed beyond the breast.