Brain cancer: drink that makes tumors more effective | Science

Surgeons have tested the use of a fluorescent marker that can help remove dangerous brain tumors from patients more accurately.

The research was carried out by the British, who was suspected to be a British lady, Tessa Jowell in May, and the most common form of brain cancer.

Cancer can be used to treat cancer, but it can be challenging to prevent cancer.

Researchers said using the fluorescent marker helped distinguish the most aggressive patient survival.

They used a compound called 5-aminolevulinic acid or 5-ALA, which the patient drinks. The compound glows when a light is shone on it.

Previous research shows that 5-ALA accumulates in fast-growing cancer cells so it can act as a fluorescent marker of high-grade cells.

The study was carried out on 99 patients with suspected high-grade gliomas – a kind of tumor -who were treated at Royal Liverpool Hospital, King's College Hospital in London and Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge. They were aged between 23 and 77, with an average age of 59.

During their operations, surgeons reported fluorescence in 85 patients and 81 of these were confirmed by pathologists to have high-grade disease. One was found to have low-grade disease and could not be assessed.

In the 14 patients where we did not see any fluorescence, only seven tumors could be successfully assessed.

The study was led by Colin Watts, professor of neurosurgery and chairman of the brain cancer program at the University of Birmingham. Professor Watts said: "Neurosurgeons need to be distinguished from other tissues, especially when the tumor contains fast-growing, high-grade cancer cells.

"The advantage of this technique is that it can be more rapidly elevated to a tumor during neurosurgery.

"What this means is that the tumor can be removed more safely and with fewer complications, and that's better for the patient."

The trial is being presented at the 2018 National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) cancer conference in Glasgow.

Dr. Kathreena Kurian, associate professor in brain tumor research at the University of Bristol, said: "Gliomas are difficult to treat, with survival times measured rather than years.

"Once a tumor is removed, it is passed to a pathologist who examines the cells under a microscope to see if they are 'high-grade', fast growing cells, or 'low-grade' growing slower cells. And we can plan further treatment, such as radiotherapy or chemotherapy, based on that diagnosis.

"We would like to see if a fluorescent marker could help surgeons objectively identify high-grade tumor cells during surgery, allowing them to remove as much cancer as possible while leaving normal brain tissue intact."