A chemical substance is illuminating tumours of the bladder. Discovered by EPFL, this detection method is now to be marketed in the USA.
Bladder cancer is the fourth-most-common type of tumour among men and the eighth-most-common for women. Even for experienced urologists, it is difficult to detect in its early stages. Moreover, it has a strong tendency to relapse, which makes better visualisation all the more important. A method for illuminating malignant cells with a fluorescent marker, discovered by EPFL, was recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and is now to be marketed in the USA by Photocure and GE Healthcare under the name Cysview™. In an application which is already very widespread in Europe, the medication (Hexvix from Photocure) is applied to the bladder wall, where it is metabolised by the malignant cells. When the doctor then studies the interior of the bladder with an endoscopic blue-light camera, the tumours appear as red areas. This method is also very helpful during surgical removal of mainly small tumours.
Implications for other cancer types
The EPFL project managers believe that such a method could also be used to treat colorectal cancer or other tumours in hollow organs. Photocure is currently carrying out research in this area. To date, this is the only solution of this kind to be approved by the FDA. The FDA approval is the crowning achievement of more than ten years’ work by EPFL researchers and their partners at the University Hospital Center of Lausanne and at the University of Lausanne (as well as from Photocure).
