Medindia LOGIN REGISTER
Medindia
Advertisement

New Imaging Technology may be a Boon for Brain Cancer Patients

by Dr. Enozia Vakil on September 6, 2013 at 5:02 PM
 New Imaging Technology may be a Boon for Brain Cancer Patients

Doctors have now unveiled a new imaging system that could make brain surgery more accurate by helping surgeons distinguish between cancer and normal cells at the microscopic level.

Called SRS microscopy -- short for stimulated Raman scattering -- a team of researchers that included Xiaoliang Sunney Xie, the Mallinckrodt Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology and Minbiao Ji, a Post-Doctoral Fellow in Chemistry and Chemical Biology, were able to "see" the tiniest areas of tumor cells in brain tissue, and to distinguish tumor from healthy tissue in the brains of living mice -- and then showed that the same was possible in tissue removed from a patient with glioblastoma multiforme, one of the most deadly brain tumors. The research is described in a September 4 paper in Science Translational Medicine.

Advertisement

"Biopsy has been the gold standard for detecting and removing these types of tumors," said Xiaoliang Sunney Xie, the Mallinckrodt Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology and co-lead author of the paper. "But this technique, we believe, is better because it's live. Surgeons can now skip all the steps of taking a biopsy, freezing and staining the tissue -- this technique allows them to do it all in vivo."

Developed by Xie and colleagues in 2008, SRS works by shining non-invasive lasers into tissue and detecting the weak signal that emerges. By analyzing the signal's spectrum, researchers can build images of the cellular makeup of the tissue.
Advertisement

By amplifying those signals, they were able to transform a technique that once took hours or days into one that works in real-time, and could offer a critical insight to surgeons in the operating room.

Since brain tissue and tumors contain different chemical makeups, researchers can create images that precisely show where tumor "margin" -- the boundary area where tumor cells infiltrate among normal cells -- is located, helping to guide surgeons in the operating room.

"It's very nerve-wracking," Xie said, of the challenge facing surgeons. "They have an MRI image, and they know what needs to be removed, but the question is where do you stop? A very experienced surgeon may be able to discern between brain tissue and a tumor based on subtle color differences, but many surgeons, I believe, will find this technology a useful guide."

Working with a team of researchers led by Daniel Orringer, M.D., a lecturer in the U-M Department of Neurosurgery, Harvard researchers were able to show that the technique can be used to detect tumors in living mice, and in human brain tissue.

On average, Orringer said, patients diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme live only 18 months after diagnosis. Surgery is among the most effective treatments for such tumors, but less than a quarter of patients' operations achieve the best possible results, according to a study published last fall in the Journal of Neurosurgery.

"Though brain tumor surgery has advanced in many ways, survival for many patients is still poor, in part because surgeons can't be sure that they've removed all tumor tissue before the operation is over," said Orringer. "We need better tools for visualizing tumor during surgery, and SRS microscopy is highly promising. With SRS we can see something that's invisible through conventional surgical microscopy."

The authors suggest that SRS microscopy may be as accurate as Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining -- the current approach used in brain tumor diagnosis.

In one test described in the paper, H&E staining was pitted directly against SRS microscopy. Three surgical pathologists, trained in studying brain tissue and spotting tumor cells, had virtually the same level of accuracy, regardless of which images they examined. The difference, Xie said, is that SRS microscopy can be done in real time, and without dyeing, removing or processing the tissue.

"For more than 100 years, Hematoxylin and eosin stain has been the gold standard for this type of imaging," Xie said. "But with this technology, we don't need to freeze the tissue, we don't need to stain tissue, and we don't need to biopsy -- this acts like an optical biopsy, and allows us to identify the tumor margins at a cellular level."

"We are glad that this technology is now taking a step forward into a clinical application," he added. "With this paper, we now have the proof of principle that this can be done in human brains in situ."



Source: Eurekalert
Font : A-A+

Advertisement

Advertisement
Advertisement

Recommended Readings

Latest Cancer News

Blood Test for Early Detection of Pancreatic Cancer
The blood test pinpointed 13 proteins capable of distinguishing between early and late stages of pancreatic cancer.
Nutrients in Beef and Dairy Promote Cancer Immunotherapy
A fatty acid present in dairy products, beef, and lamb called trans-vaccenic acid enhances immune cells' capacity to combat cancers.
Combination Therapy Holds Promise for Brain Tumor in Children
Trametinib plus dabrafenib combined therapy demonstrated a clear therapeutic benefit in children with BRAF-mutated low- and high-grade gliomas.
Urban Environments Fuel Higher Breast Cancer Rates
Examining breast cancer occurrence and stages reveals disparities in urban versus rural rates, influenced by environmental conditions and the stage of the disease.
DNA Repair Pathway Linked to Breast, Ovarian, and Prostate Cancers
Polymerases theta and delta assist in the development of new cancer drugs known as polymerase theta inhibitors, currently undergoing clinical trials.
View All
This site uses cookies to deliver our services.By using our site, you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Cookie Policy, Privacy Policy, and our Terms of Use  Ok, Got it. Close
×

New Imaging Technology may be a Boon for Brain Cancer Patients Personalised Printable Document (PDF)

Please complete this form and we'll send you a personalised information that is requested

You may use this for your own reference or forward it to your friends.

Please use the information prudently. If you are not a medical doctor please remember to consult your healthcare provider as this information is not a substitute for professional advice.

Name *

Email Address *

Country *

Areas of Interests