Dye Makes Cancerous Lymph Nodes Glow

Mar 19, 2018 | Blog

Science Daily– Surgeons at Penn Medicine are using a fluorescent dye that makes cancerous cells glow in hopes of identifying suspicious lymph nodes during head and neck cancer procedures. Led by Jason G. Newman, MD, FACS, an associate professor of Otorhinolaryngology in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, the study is the first in the world to look at the effectiveness of intraoperative molecular imaging (IMI) of lymph nodes in patients with head and neck cancer. Because the tumors glow, surgeons get real-time guidance to help them take out as much cancer as possible and leave non-diseased tissue alone.