- Lung cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer in the world.
- Oncology Surgeons have relied on a range of tools, techniques, and skills to remove cancerous tumours.
-
Phillip Low, a Purdue University scholar, and Ralph C. Corley, a chemistry professor in the College of Science, invented the drug Cytalux, as a part of the Purdue Center for Cancer Research.
-
The drug will help to identify cancerous tumours by illuminating them and making them glow against healthy and non-cancerous tissues, thus helping surgeons be more precise.
Know more about Lung Cancer Treatment:
Lung Cancer Treatment in India
Lung Cancer Treatment in Turkey
-
In the field of medical science, the invention of Cytalux in lung cancer surgery is a welcome development that will help remove all malignant tissues while retaining healthy tissues.
-
Based on the unique chemistry of fluorescent dye, Cytalux, when injected intravenously, lights and glows up the tumours inside the human body.
-
Cancer cells need folate (a type of vitamin B) to multiply faster inside the body. The Cytalux when injected inside, tags the folate compound with a fluorescent dye.
-
These cancerous cells then fluoresce under near-infrared light and are thus easily traceable by surgeons.
-
In clinical trials, Cytalux has helped surgeons visualize undetected cancer tissue in 24% of lung cancer patients.
-
This drug has helped surgeons avoid removing healthy and non-cancerous tissues during surgery for lung cancer.
-
"We are the first tumour-targeted fluorescent dye to be approved by the FDA. We are also working on other tumour-targeted fluorescent dyes to target many other types of cancer", says Phillip Low.
Source - News Medical