Brain surgeons need steady hands as well as cool heads. Now they're getting a helping hand from researchers in Europe to fight a fatal type of brain cancer called glioblastoma.
A Danish biotechnology company named FluoGuide led a research project that received EU funding to pinpoint glioblastoma better so surgeons can more easily remove it. FluoGuide developed a fluorescent chemical dye that's injected into patients before surgery.The compound locks onto aggressive cancer cells through an enzyme that the rogue cancer cells use against the body.
FluoGuide developed a protein attached to a fluorophore—a chemical that shines when hit by light. The protein-fluorophore tandem gets injected into the patient, circulates in the body and attaches itself to the uPAR cancer cells.is directed at brain tissue and reveals where the fluorophore and, by extension, the uPAR is in the brain.
Ordinary MRI relies on differences in the magnetic properties of water in tissues and can be used to"see" a brain tumor. But MRI has shortcomings when it comes to revealing early changes in a tumor during a treatment. The work by researchers under OncoViroMRI was mostly done in laboratory mice. Medical doctors took part in the project in an effort to help draw lessons for the treatment of patients.to decipher the data from MRI and turn it into a readable map that doctors can use to track patient progress.
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