A glowing dye that clings to cancer cells gives surgeons a “second pair of eyes” to eradicate the disease, University of Oxford experts have found. The dye, which has been developed for prostate cancer but could be adapted to other forms of the disease, shows up areas of cancerous tissue not picked up by the naked eye during surgery. This allows doctors to remove far more of the cancer in real-time, and slashes the chance of the disease coming back.
Cancer Research UK, which funded the scientists, said full clinical trials are under way to find out if surgery with the marker dye removes more prostate cancer and preserves more healthy tissue than existing surgical techniques. In an initial study, 23 men with prostate cancer were injected with the marker dye before undergoing surgery to remove their prostates. The fluorescent dye showed up the cancer cells and where they had spread into other tissues, such as the pelvis and lymph nodes.
A special imaging system was used to shine a light on the prostate and nearby regions, making the prostate cancer cells glow. Being able to see such detail meant the surgeons could remove cancer cells whilst preserving healthy tissue. Surgery professor, Freddie Hamdy, from the University of Oxford and lead author of the study, said: “We are giving the surgeon a second pair of eyes to see where the cancer cells are and if they have spread.
“It’s the first time we’ve managed to see such fine details of prostate cancer in real-time duri.
