By John Mark Shaver, The Exponent Telegram
BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. — Lung cancer operations at WVU Medicine United Hospital Center have gotten more precise and efficient thanks to Cytalux, a drug that allows doctors to more easily see exactly where the cancer lies in the lung.
WVU Medicine thoracic surgeon Dr. Nicholas Baker explained that the IV medicine is administered to patients before surgery starts, and gives the doctor a better ability to pinpoint the cancer using a special type of camera used in robotic surgery by turning the cancerous areas green.
“Fairly commonly in lung cancer, we don’t actually see the cancer on the surface of the lung,” Baker said. “It’s down in the lung. (Cytalux) allows me to see (the cancer) under the surface. That allows me to localize the cancer so I can take out less lung. You can imagine that if I can’t localize where it is, I have to take out a whole lobe of a lung sometimes just to make sure I get it. …
“The other aspect is that it allows me to visualize the margin as I cut the tumor out. That’s the rim of normal tissue. With any cancer operation, you always want to make sure you take out a rim of normal tissue so you don’t leave cancer behind.”
