Most women with breast cancer undergo lumpectomy surgery to remove the tumor and a rim of healthy tissue surrounding the tumor. After the procedure, the removed tissue is sent to a pathologist to look for signs of disease at the edge of the tissue assessed. Unfortunately, about 20 percent of women who have lumpectomies must undergo a second surgery to remove more tissue. Now, an MIT spinout is giving surgeons a real-time view of cancerous tissue during surgery. Lumicell has developed a handheld device and an optical imaging agent that, when combined, allow surgeons to scan the tissue within the surgical cavity to visualize residual cancer cells. The surgeons see these images on a monitor that can guide them to remove additional tissue during the procedure. In a clinical trial of 357 patients, Lumicell's technology not only reduced the need for second surgeries but also revealed tissue suspected to contain cancer cells that may have otherwise been missed by the standard of care...
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