BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) - Researchers at the University of Alabama Birmingham are honing a method to improve cancer surgery by using a fluorescent dye to make cancerous cells glow.
AL.com (http://bit.ly/11TKrMQ) reports researchers are infusing the dye with FDA approved antibodies to target cancer cells they can easily detect using an imaging machine called a spy. The machine uses an infrared camera which monitors surgery in real time to help doctors identify and eliminate cancerous cells that need to be removed.
Researchers say the camera can spot clusters small as 400 cancer cells - which are about the size of the tip of a pen.
Eben Rosenthal, senior scientist in the Experimental Therapeutics Program at the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center, says researchers plan to use the method in human clinical trials within six months.