PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 19, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The INSERM research group at the Institut de Recherche contre les Cancers de l'Appareil Digestif (Institute of Research against Digestive Cancer - IRCAD) used a new, in vivo microscopic imaging technology to develop a technique that may help improve outcomes of surgery to remove pancreatic cancer, according to pre-clinical data published in the November issue of the American journal Gastroenterology.
Lead author Pr. Jacques Marescaux and his team at IRCAD utilized the Cellvizio® probe-based Confocal Laser Endomicroscopy (pCLE) system, a miniaturized, flexible, fiber-optic microscope, to aid in the identification of malignant tissue and metastases in the pancreas and surrounding lymph nodes while operating.
"This new imaging method constitutes a very promising diagnostic tool which should be rapidly applied to humans in order to delineate clear margins for cancer resection," Pr. Marescaux said. “Given the mortality associated with pancreatic cancer, it’s crucial that surgeons remove all malignant cells from the patient as completely and as early as possible. This new technique allows the surgeon to identify areas of interest, such as, malignancies and metastases in real time and should help prevent the need for additional operations and may improve patient outcomes when applied in a clinical setting.”
Pancreatic cancer is one of the rare cancers for which chemotherapy and radiotherapy have disappointing results. The best patient outcomes are achieved with surgery in which the surgeon must remove all the cancerous cells, including those in the primary tumor, as well as those hidden in the surrounding pancreatic tissue and lymph nodes.
In this study, Cellvizio helped the IRCAD researchers detect cancerous cells in the pancreas and surrounding lymph nodes in laboratory rats. The study also showed that the team was able to identify very small metastases with Cellvizio; researchers initially missed these same metastases with traditional techniques and histopathological analysis. None of the areas deemed normal with Cellvizio were confirmed as cancerous with standard histology.
"We are very enthusiastic about the IRCAD team’s work and this publication in Gastroenterology,” said Sacha Loiseau, CEO and founder of Mauna Kea Technologies, the Paris-based company that developed and commercializes Cellvizio. "While we continue to work with endoscopists to help them improve how they manage and treat patients with GI and biliary diseases, we are also increasing our focus and effort to improve the detection of abnormal tissues which may be indicative of cancerous lesions during surgical procedures."
About Mauna Kea Technologies and Cellvizio
Mauna Kea Technologies believes that in continuously pushing the limits of observation of life and by helping physicians design new medical references and guidelines, that may improve patient care and reduce healthcare costs. Its flagship product, Cellvizio®, is the world's smallest and most flexible microscope and the first system designed to provide live, real-time images of internal human tissues at the cellular level during endoscopic procedures. This new, advanced imaging technique helps physicians more effectively assess the tissues of interest and differentiate normal versus abnormal tissues that may be indicative of cancer, so patients potentially can be treated earlier and may undergo fewer biopsies. Physicians and thought leaders at more than 75 top medical institutions around the world have completed over 3,500 of these procedures and have published more than 35 peer-reviewed papers on the technology in leading medical journals. Cellvizio has premarket notification 510(k) clearance from the United States Food and Drug Administration and the European CE-Mark for use in the gastrointestinal and pulmonary tracts. For more information visit www.maunakeatech.com.