Chemical 'Paint' Helps Surgeons See Cancer's Borders
- From: J <nexsw@nvalid,anon>
- Date: Mon, 16 Jul 2007 19:46:33 -0400
<
http://www.forbes.com/forbeslife/health/feeds/hscout/2007/07/16/hscout606298.html
Chemical 'Paint' Helps Surgeons See Cancer's Borders
07.16.07, 12:00 AM ET
MONDAY, July 16 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers say they've developed a
tumor "paint" that illuminates cancerous cells and help surgeons spot the
borders of tumors.
A team at Seattle Children's Hospital Research Institute and the Fred
Hutchinson Cancer Research Center found that the paint -- a protein
derived from scorpions called chlorotoxin -- helped surgeons distinguish
between brain tumor cells and normal brain tissue during surgery.
"My greatest hope is that tumor paint will fundamentally improve cancer
therapy. By allowing surgeons to see cancer that would be undetectable by
other means, we can give our patients better outcomes," study senior
author Dr. James M. Olson said in a prepared statement.
The findings are in the July 15 issue of the journal Cancer Research.
Chlorotoxin is linked to a molecular "beacon" called Cy5.5. The use of
chlorotoxin:Cy5.5 improves the likelihood that surgeons will be able to
remove all cancerous cells during surgery without damaging surrounding
healthy tissue, the researchers said. This is especially important for
brain cancer patients. About 80 percent of malignant cancers recur at the
edges of sites where tumors have been surgically removed.
Until now, there has been no way to allow surgeons to "see" tumors during
surgery.
The researchers also noted that current technology, such as MRI, can
distinguish tumors from healthy tissue only if more than one million
cancer cells are present. Chlorotoxin:Cy5.5 is able to identify tumors
with as few as 200 cancer cells, which means that it's 500 times more
sensitive than MRI.
The tumor paint has been successfully tested in mice, and pilot safety
trials have been completed. The researchers are preparing required
toxicity studies before they apply to the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration for permission to begin human clinical trials with the
tumor paint.
The American Cancer Society has more about cancer surgery.
http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_1_2X_Surgery.asp
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chlorotoxin
Chlorotoxin is a 36-amino acid peptide found in the venom of the
deathstalker scorpion (Leiurus quinquestriatus). A synthetically modified
version, 131I-chlorotoxin or TM-601, is under investigation for the
treatment of gliomas, because it specifically binds to glial tumor cells,
but not normal cells.
Researchers at Seattle Children?s Hospital Research Institute and Fred
Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have recently used Chlorotoxin in
combination with fluorescent material named, Cy5.5 to fist ever demarcate
cancer cells from surrounding normal cells. Chlorotoxin:Cy5.5 is a
fluorescent molecular material emitting photons in the near infrared
spectrum and hence, can be visualized in operating room with the aid of
infrared glasses. This illumination gives surgeons a better chance of
removing all of the cancerous cells during surgery without injuring
surrounding healthy tissue. Team has conducted pre-clinical study in mouse
models where they showed positive results in brain tumors. To note,
approximately 80% of malignant cancers of brain recur at the edges of the
surgical site. Current technology (such as MRI with contrast agent) can
distinguish tumors from healthy tissue only if more than 1 million cancer
cells are present. But Cy5.5 can identify tumors with as few as 2000
cancer cells, making it 500 times more sensitive than MRI.
Chlorotoxin:Cy5.5 could be used in operating rooms in as little as 18
months as team is planning to conduct clinical trial in coming months.
Original article can be found in July 15, 2007 issue of Cancer Research[1]
[edit] Reference
1. ^ Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center of Seattle at
EurekAlert! (2007-07-12). Tumor painting revolutionizes fight against
cancer (Researchers develop Chlorotoxin:Cy5.5 enabling surgeons to see
cancer cells 500 times better than an MRI). Press release. Retrieved on
2006-07-15.
.
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