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11/20: BC Cancer Agency study sheds new light on controlling oral cancer
It’s all in how you look at it
A study recently published in Clinical Cancer Research takes BC Cancer Agency researchers into the operating room to shed new light on oral cancer. Using a hand-held blue light device that could change clinical practices, pioneered at the BC Cancer Agency, researchers examined oral cancer patients for pre-cancerous and cancerous lesions that are not visible to the naked eye. The light device makes cancerous lesions that look like normal tissue under regular white light appear as dark patches.
“This light device could revolutionize surgical practice, allowing us to see previously hidden changes at the edge of cancers during surgery,” says Dr. Scott Durham, surgeon, Vancouver General Hospital.
The light device detected dark patches that extended beyond the tumour and its surgical boundary in 19 of the 20 patients involved in the study. Biopsies taken from the tissue outside the surgical boundary confirmed the existence of both cancerous and abnormal cells.
Recognizing the tissue surrounding oral cancers is at high-risk for developing cancer, surgeons generally remove an arbitrary width of 10 millimeter or more of normal-looking tissue surrounding the tumour, if anatomically possible.
However, the study has shown that this approach still fails to completely remove the high-risk tissues in many patients.
“By using the light device, we were able to see that cancerous and pre-cancerous lesions are not evenly distributed around the tumour,” says Dr. Catherine Poh, Oral Pathology Specialist at the BC Cancer Agency and Principal Investigator of the study. “Current surgical practices sometimes do not eliminate oral cancers completely and this contributes to a high rate of recurrence.”
Oral cancer is a deadly disease with little change in the survival rate in more than three decades. The results of the study could potentially affect the management of the 3,100 new cases of oral cancer developing in Canada each year.
“There is a pressing need to develop new approaches that can be used clinically in order to improve the outcome for oral cancer patients,” says Dr. Miriam Rosin, Director of the BC Cancer Agency’s Oral Cancer Prevention Program. “The results of the study are certainly promising.”
Dr. Rosin adds that the study is an important step forward in integrating optical technology and the management of this disease.
“It’s exciting to see this new technology developed in British Columbia finally making it into the surgical theatre,” says BC Cancer Agency scientist Dr. Calum MacAulay.
The study, a part of the BC Cancer Agency’s Oral Cancer Prevention Program, is the effort of a multidisciplinary research team that includes oral medicine and pathology specialists, dentists, ENT surgeons, physicists and engineers.
The study was undertaken collaboratively by the BC Cancer Agency, University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, and Vancouver General Hospital.
The National Institute of Dental Craniofacial Research provided funding to pioneer the light source.
The BC Cancer Agency, an Agency of the Provincial Health Services Authority, is committed to reducing the incidence of cancer, reducing the mortality from cancer, and improving the quality of life of those living with cancer. It provides a comprehensive cancer control program for the people of British Columbia by working with community partners to deliver a range of oncology services, including prevention, early detection, diagnosis and treatment, research, education, supportive care, rehabilitation and palliative care. The BC Cancer Foundation raises funds to support research and enhancements to patient care at the BC Cancer Agency.
For more information or to arrange an interview, contact:
Jinny Wu
Communications Specialist
BC Cancer Agency
604.877.6272
Toll-free: 1.800.663.3333, ex 6272
jwu2@bccancer.bc.ca
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