Fluorescence-Guided Neurosurgery in Oncology

In recent years, oncology research has been exceeding expectations, and reaching new limits concerning determining malignant tumors, and separating them from benign areas. One area of research that is being done is through fluorescence-guided neurosurgery. This is a case where tumors are tagged with a 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) which can aid in determining cancerous cells from non cancerous cells in places where the two may be similar in appearance and in texture. This acid (which is not currently approved in the US) causes a buildup of “porphyrins in malignant gliomas” which are more easily identified. These studies were taken in Germany, at the University of Dusseldorf, where the results showed that those patients who were treated with 5-ALA had about a 20% higher chance that the malignant cells would not return, however it is still controversial to use a maximal amount of cytoreductive therapy in most cases.

This article and situation seems most interesting to me, mainly due to the visit to Germany that I have planned this summer. While there, I will be studying the History of Medicine, where many controversial issues in the states are not deemed a problem at all in most of Europe. Hopefully, I will be able to see some instances where medicine in Europe is more loosely restricted, and real research can be done. IN this case, it seems that there are relatively little side effects that can be caused by 5-ADA, and at this point in time, any research that can be improved in oncology, needs to be done.

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/503554

http://engineering.dartmouth.edu/research/by-discipline/biomed.html