Laser-Based Technique May Improve Accuracy of Brain Tumor Removal

According to a paper featured in Science Translational Medicine, a new laser-based technique enables surgeons to determine cancer tissues from healthy brain tissue at the microscopic level. The technology allows for more accurate brain tumor surgery, and lessens the likelihood that tumor cells will be left behind. SRS microscopy, as the technique is called, was conducted initially in a mouse-model study and then was found to be effective in patients with the deadly glioblastoma multiforme tumor.

“Though brain tumor surgery has advanced in many ways, survival for many patients is still poor, in part because surgeons can’t be sure that they’ve removed all tumor tissue before the operation is over,” says one of the study’s authors. “We need better tools for visualizing tumor during surgery, and SRS microscopy is highly promising. With SRS we can see something that’s invisible through conventional surgical microscopy.” Click here to read the full story.