In the UK, researchers are testing the concept of making brain cancers glow to assist surgeons during operations.
To induce a fluorescent effect in the tumour, patients will receive a drug called 5-amino-levulinic acid (5-ALA).
The hypothesis posits that the pink luminescence will distinctly outline the tumour’s boundaries, facilitating the complete removal of affected tissue.
The trial will involve over 60 participants diagnosed with glioblastoma.
These patients are afflicted with cancerous glial cells, crucial for supporting the brain’s nerve cells. Typically, individuals survive an average of 15 months post-diagnosis.
In certain cancers, like colon cancer, surgeons can excise the tumour along with some surrounding tissue, but brain tumour removals require greater precision.
Dr. Colin Watts, who is spearheading the trial at the University of Cambridge, emphasized that surgeons “don’t want to take too much functional tissue away.”
Following the removal of the tumour under ultraviolet light, researchers will evaluate the impact of applying drugs directly to the tumour on survival rates.
After excising the tumour, a thin, drug-soaked wafer will be inserted into the cavity left behind. This wafer is expected to gradually release chemotherapy drugs over four to six weeks, targeting any remaining cancerous cells.
This approach might address some of the challenges associated with chemotherapy for brain tumours.
Dr. Watts explained: “One of the problems with chemotherapy is we don’t actually know the extent a drug penetrates a tumour because of the blood-brain barrier.”
Administering the drug directly to the tumour should facilitate a higher dosage.
Charles Meacock, a 56-year-old from Norfolk who has already participated in the trial, remarked: “Hopefully it will benefit me, but will also help people in my situation in the future.”
“It’s been four weeks since my surgery, and my recovery appears to be progressing as expected. Now, I can only wait and see.”
The study has received funding from the Samantha Dickson Brain Tumour Trust and Cancer Research UK.
