Professor Freddie Hamdy lead author of the study

A human trial in Scotland found that a dye that clings to cancer cells can give surgeons an unprecedented view of tumors as they enter to remove them.

Developed for use in the removal of prostate cancer, the dye could be adapted to other cancers but is already successfully helping to extract greater amounts of cancerous tissue.

News of personalized mRNA cancer vaccines and CAR-T cell therapy suggest that cancer treatments are in the middle of a revolution. By contrast, this relatively simple procedure gives surgeons a “second pair of eyes” to help them preserve as much healthy tissue as possible and also track down where any malignancies have spread.

Developed by Cancer Research UK, larger-scale trials are now underway to find out just how effective the marker dye is. At present, a trial of 23 men with prostate cancer underwent surgery and had more of their cancer removed and more healthy tissue unharmed.

“It’s the first time we’ve managed to see such fine details of prostate cancer in real-time during surgery,” said surgery professor, Freddie Hamdy from the University of Oxford and lead author of the study. “With this technique, we can strip all the cancer away, including the cells that have spread from the tumor—which could give it the chance to come back later.”

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Developed as part of a collaboration between Oxford and a private biotech company in Inglewood California called ImaginAb, the marker dye contains a targeting molecule that is engineered to attach itself to a protein called prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) found on the exterior of prostate cancer cells.

The developers believe that future versions of the dye could be developed for other forms of cancers just by changing the target protein.

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Further experts speaking to The Scotsman about the dye's success in the trial explained that it's nearly impossible for the naked eye to determine what is and isn't cancerous beyond the site of the tumor. The dye, the expert said, could fundamentally transform prostate cancer treatment.

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