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.
