Oxford University experts have revealed a dye that lights up invisible cancerous tissue in the prostate, allowing doctors to remove a larger portion of the tumor and reducing the chances of the disease returning due to remaining cells.
Cancer Research UK, which funded the recent study, said full clinical trials are underway to see if surgery using the dye removes more cancerous tumor and preserves healthy tissue at a higher rate than current surgical techniques.
In the initial study, 23 men with prostate cancer were injected with the distinctive dye before undergoing surgery to remove the prostate.
When light (white and near-infrared) was shined on the prostate and nearby areas, the fluorescent dye illuminated the cancer cells and the places where they had spread to other tissues, such as the pelvis.
Professor of Surgery Freddy Hamdi, from the University of Oxford and lead author of the study, said: “It is the first time that we have been able to see such fine details of prostate cancer in real time during surgery.”
He explained that this technique “allows for the preservation of as much healthy structures around the prostate as possible, to reduce unnecessary life-altering side effects, such as urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction.”
This technology works by combining the dye with a molecule that attaches to a substance known as antigen, which is found on the surface of prostate cancer cells.
Life saving innovation.
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