Stanford researchers land NIH grant to advance intraoperative molecular imaging technique
Researchers at Stanford University are set to receive a federal grant to advance the development of a molecular imaging agent that can guide lung cancer surgery in real-time.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant will fund research led by Natalie Lui, MD, an associate professor of cardiothoracic surgery at Stanford University School of Medicine. Lui and colleagues will be evaluating the safety and efficacy of Panitumumab-IRDye800, a fluorescent molecular imaging agent that highlights cancerous tissue during surgery.
With a five-year overall survival rate of 25%, lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related deaths. When it is identified early, surgical resection is an important and effective treatment option for patients. However, it can be challenging to locate small, low density or deeply positioned lung tumors during an operation, and current localization techniques often require additional equipment, expose patients to radiation and can increase procedure times. Experts are hopeful that their research can help address this longstanding issue.
The imaging agent combines panitumumab, an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-targeting antibody (which is overexpressed in many lung cancers), with a near-infrared fluorescent dye. The agent accumulates in malignant tumors while largely sparing surrounding healthy tissues. This enables surgeons to visualize the fluorescence using a specialized camera to identify tumors intraoperatively without exposing patients to additional ionizing radiation.
Researchers include a multidisciplinary team of thoracic surgeons, oncologists, pathologists, pulmonologists and imaging scientists from Stanford, along with a collaborator from Vanderbilt University. Together, the team will assess whether the molecular imaging approach can improve intraoperative localization and increase the likelihood of complete tumor removal, this improving surgical outcomes.
The research is set to take place over a period of five years.
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In addition to her background in journalism, Hannah also has patient-facing experience in clinical settings, having spent more than 12 years working as a registered rad tech. She began covering the medical imaging industry for Innovate Healthcare in 2021.