We present a novel technology based on a high sensitivity/specificity cancer targeting agent and of a novel fluorescence-guided microscopy (FGM) scheme for intraoperative assessment of surgical margins in breast cancer patients. Cancer cells are targeted using an optically silent peptide substrate coupled to a near infrared
(NIR) fluorochrome that is cleaved by highly mediated breast cancer enzymes, like urokinase-type
plasminogen activator (uPA), to become highly fluorescent when excited by a NIR laser beam. A FGM instrument is used to localize cancer-suspect areas on the lumpectomy specimen and visualize
tissue morphology at the sub-cellular scale, such that a trained pathologist can read these images in
real-time and confirm or rule-out cancer presence. The proposed technology will enable efficient
assessment of surgical specimens during surgery, when it is mostly needed, and therefore help the
clinician to determine if additional tissue excision is needed or not. The preliminary testing of this technology on breast surgical specimens will be discussed.
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