A new study performed by the researchers from UBC's Faculties of Medicine, Science, and Dentistry, is aimed at improving the outcomes for patients undergoing surgery for oral squamous cell cancers. The study involves universities and hospitals in nine Canadian cities.
The researchers claim that “Findings from the study could revolutionize clinical practice here and around the world.”
According to the Canadian Cancer Society, every year approximately 3,400 Canadians are diagnosed with oral cancer. In 2010, the estimated number of deaths caused by oral cancer was 1,150; now nearly 30% of the patients who have oral surgery do end up having their cancer recur.
In order to differentiate between healthy tissues from tumours or pre-cancerous cells in the mouth, the study is going to investigate the effectiveness of a fluorescence visualization, or "blue light," under which normal tissue generates a fluorescence, the fluorescence is absent in tumour or pre-cancerous tissue.
"In work we've conducted to date in Vancouver, there has been almost no recurrence where surgery followed the contour of the lesion shown by using FV-guided surgery. Working together with surgeons, pathologists, research staff, and scientists, this TFRI-funded study will enable us to test the approach on a broader cohort of patients at sites across the country and obtain the evidence required to change current practice," says principal investigator Dr. Catherine Poh, a senior scientist with BC Cancer Agency.
"Our surgical community has expressed great interest in participating in this trial, which provides a unique and important opportunity to assess a surgical intervention in a controlled prospective manner across many sites," says principal investigator Dr. Scott Durham, head of the division of otolaryngology at Vancouver General Hospital and a clinical professor at UBC's Faculty of Medicine.
"This study will have an immediate impact on practice if the study turns out the way we hope," says principal Investigator Dr. Miriam Rosin, a senior scientist with the BC Cancer Agency who holds joint appointments at UBC and Simon Fraser University. "If the study is successful, it will help to reduce the number of deaths from oral cancer as well as improve the quality of life for people living with this disease. Working with scientists, we will have this new approach ready to disseminate to the surgical community at large and even globally."
Source: University of British Columbia
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