Biomarker-Directed, MS-Based Precision Surgery for Brain Cancer

A tool to help brain surgeons test and more precisely remove cancerous tissue was successfully used during surgery, according to a Purdue University and Brigham and Women's Hospital study.

The Purdue-designed tool sprays a microscopic stream of charged solvent onto the tissue surface to gather information about its molecular makeup and produces a color-coded image that reveals the location, nature and concentration of tumor cells.

"In a matter of seconds this technique offers molecular information that can detect residual tumor that otherwise may have been left behind in the patient," said R. Graham Cooks, the Purdue professor who co-led the research team. "The instrumentation is relatively small and inexpensive and could easily be installed in operating rooms to aid neurosurgeons. This study shows the tremendous potential it has to enhance patient care."

Current surgical methods rely on the surgeon's trained eye with the help of an operating microscope and imaging from scans performed before surgery, Cooks said.

"Brain tumor tissue looks very similar to healthy brain tissue, and it is very difficult to determine where the tumor ends and the normal tissue begins," he said. "In the brain, millimeters of tissue can mean the difference between normal and impaired function. Molecular information beyond what a surgeon can see can help them precisely and comprehensively remove the cancer."

Press release: http://bit.ly/1lCcaqh

Source: Purdue University