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Updated: Apr 26, 2026
Tissue-simulating Phantoms for Assessing Potential Near-infrared Fluorescence Imaging Applications in Breast Cancer Surgery
Published on: September 19, 2014
Fluorescent imaging of cancerous tissues for targeted surgery
Lihong Bu1, Baozhong Shen2, Zhen Cheng3
1Molecular Imaging Program at Stanford (MIPS), Department of Radiology and Bio-X Program, Stanford University, 1201 Welch Road, Lucas Center, Room P095, Stanford, CA 94305-5484, USA; Molecular Imaging Center, Department of Radiology, The 4th hospital of Harbin Medical University, No 31 Yiyuan Street, Nangang District, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150001, PR China.
Abstract:
To maximize tumor excision and minimize collateral damage are the primary goals of cancer surgery. Emerging molecular imaging techniques have made "image-guided surgery" developed into "molecular imaging-guided surgery", which is termed as "targeted surgery" in this review. Consequently, the precision of surgery can be advanced from tissue-scale to molecule-scale, enabling "targeted surgery" to be a component of "targeted therapy". Evidence from numerous experimental and clinical studies has demonstrated significant benefits of fluorescent imaging in targeted surgery with preoperative molecular diagnostic screening. Fluorescent imaging can help to improve intraoperative staging and enable more radical cytoreduction, detect obscure tumor lesions in special organs, highlight tumor margins, better map lymph node metastases, and identify important normal structures intraoperatively. Though limited tissue penetration of fluorescent imaging and tumor heterogeneity are two major hurdles for current targeted surgery, multimodality imaging and multiplex imaging may provide potential solutions to overcome these issues, respectively. Moreover, though many fluorescent imaging techniques and probes have been investigated, targeted surgery remains at a proof-of-principle stage. The impact of fluorescent imaging on cancer surgery will likely be realized through persistent interdisciplinary amalgamation of research in diverse fields.
Insights
Molecular imaging-guided surgery, or targeted surgery, enhances cancer surgery precision from tissue to molecule scale. Fluorescent imaging offers significant intraoperative benefits, improving tumor detection and resection, though challenges remain.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Surgical Innovation
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- Cancer surgery aims to maximize tumor removal while minimizing damage to healthy tissue.
- Advancements in molecular imaging are transforming image-guided surgery into molecular imaging-guided surgery, termed targeted surgery.
- Targeted surgery enhances precision from the tissue scale to the molecule scale, integrating into targeted therapy.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the benefits and challenges of fluorescent imaging in targeted cancer surgery.
- To explore the potential of multimodality and multiplex imaging to overcome current limitations.
- To discuss the current proof-of-principle stage of targeted surgery and its future prospects.
Main Methods:
- Review of experimental and clinical studies on fluorescent imaging in cancer surgery.
- Analysis of benefits such as improved intraoperative staging, radical cytoreduction, and lesion detection.
- Identification of challenges including limited tissue penetration and tumor heterogeneity.
Main Results:
- Fluorescent imaging significantly improves intraoperative staging, tumor margin highlighting, and lymph node mapping.
- It aids in detecting obscure lesions and identifying critical normal structures during surgery.
- Multimodality and multiplex imaging show promise in addressing current technical hurdles.
Conclusions:
- Targeted surgery using fluorescent imaging offers substantial benefits for cancer surgery precision and outcomes.
- Overcoming limitations like tissue penetration and tumor heterogeneity is crucial for clinical translation.
- Continued interdisciplinary research is essential to realize the full impact of fluorescent imaging in cancer surgery.
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