New Imaging Technique Designed for More Precise Cancer Surgery

Researchers recently reported on the development and early clinical trials of a new imaging system that highlights cancerous tissue in the body so that surgeons can more easily visualize and remove diseased tissue with less damage to normal tissue near the tumor. The technique shows particular potential for improving surgery for breast, prostate, and lung cancer, whose tumor boundaries can be difficult to monitor at advanced stages, according to the investigators.

Cancer surgeons operate "blind” with no exact manner of determining in real time whether they have removed all of the diseased tissue, which is the key to successful surgery. The technique can also help cancer surgeons avoid cutting vital structures such as blood vessels and nerves, the scientists added.

"This technique is really the first time that cancer surgeons can see structures that are otherwise invisible, providing true image-guided surgery,” remarked project director Dr. John Frangioni, from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (Boston, MA, USA). "If we're able to see cancer, we have a chance of curing it.”

The system is called FLARE (fluorescence-assisted resection and exploration). Under development for the past decade, the portable system consists of a near-infrared (NIR) imaging system, a video monitor, and a computer. "The system has no moving parts, uses LEDs [light-emitting diodes] instead of lasers for excitation, makes no contact with the patient, and is sterile,” Dr. Frangioni concluded.

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Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center