The glowing dye, developed by University of Oxford experts, sticks to prostate cancer cells to help surgeons remove them in real time.<\/p>\n
During the first stage of the ProMOTE study, the dye enabled surgeons to remove all cancerous tissues, reducing the probability of the cancer recurring and preserving healthy tissues.<\/p>\n
This helps to avoid life-changing side effects following prostate cancer surgery and picks up cancerous tissues not detected by the naked eye or other clinical methods.<\/p>\n
With around 52,300 cases of prostate cancer each year in the UK alone, giving surgeons an extra pair of eyes could have significant impacts on improving cancer treatment<\/a> outcomes.<\/p>\n Nuffield Professor of Surgery at the University of Oxford, and lead author of the study, Professor Freddie Hamdy,\u00a0explained: “We are giving the surgeon a second pair of eyes to see where the cancer cells are and if they have spread.<\/p>\n “It’s the first time we’ve managed to see such fine details of prostate cancer in real time during surgery.<\/p>\n “With this technique, we can strip all the cancer away, including the cells that have spread from the tumour, which could give it the chance to come back later.<\/p>\n “It also allows us to preserve as much of the healthy structures around the prostate as we can to reduce unnecessary life-changing side-effects like incontinence and erectile dysfunction.<\/p>\n “Prostate surgery is life-changing. We want patients to leave the operating theatre knowing that we have done everything possible to eradicate their cancer and give them the best quality of life afterwards. I believe this technique makes that possibility a reality.”<\/p>\n