Australia: New drug that helps cancer cells glow

A new drug that causes the brain cancer cells to glow during surgery is being used for the first time in Australia.

Surgeons at the Royal Melbourne Hospital have used the drug, called gliolan , to help identify cancerous brain tissue during surgery to remove them from the brain.

This drug affects high-grade glioma tumors, a type of brain tumor that is very difficult to predict progression.

On September 16, Dr. Kate Drummond first used this medicine for the actual operation of the patient David Hall, 53, with malignant glioma.

A day earlier, her colleague, Dr. David Walker, conducted a similar technology operation in Brisbane.

Speaking on ABC TV, Dr. Drummond said the technique was popularly used in Europe and the United Kingdom.

Doctors give patients about 3-4 hours before surgery and the drug will gradually accumulate in tumor cells. When performing microscopic surgery, these cells will glow under blue light, helping doctors to recognize it easily.

"Basically, this drug helps doctors visualize tumors more clearly to be able to distinguish it from the normal part of the brain. Therefore, we can extract more tumors than before, thereby "It can protect normal brain parts. This makes complicated surgeries more effective and safer for patients," explains Dr. Drummond.

According to Dr. Drummond, other drugs are often at risk of allergies, but the main side effect of this drug is to make people more sensitive to light within a day after taking the drug. However, although patients taking this medicine should not be exposed to the sun, it is not a problem with normal light around.

Figures from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) show that a total of 1,123 patients died of brain cancer in the country of kangaroos in 2007.