Page 176 - Fluorescence-guided cancer surgery

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Chapter 10
with a long window of time in which the tumor lesions can be detected. Unlike uorescent antibodies—which have a much longer terminal half-life—OTL38 can be administered shortly before surgery 38.
Although more tumor deposits can be visualized and resected using intraoperative uorescence imaging with OTL38 compared to conventional methods, more prospective research is necessary to establish the e ect on overall survival. In addition, the diagnostic accuracy of uorescence imaging with OTL38 should be further assessed in a larger patient group.
In conclusion, we provide the rst evidence that a speci c intraoperative NIR imaging agent can be used to increase the e cacy of tumor removal in patients with ovarian cancer. Our approach to clinical translation using both healthy subjects and patients in the same Phase I protocol allowed us to rapidly determine the optimal dose, formulation, and time window for intraoperative imaging, thereby greatly increasing the level of cytoreduction achieved in patients with ovarian cancer.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We wish to thank all of the healthy volunteers and patients who participated in the study. We are also grateful to Dr. Mark Boonstra, Dr. Noor Boogerd, and Dr. Hein Handgraaf for their assistance; Dr. Jogchum Beltman for assistance during the surgical procedures; Margriet Löwik and Dorien Berends-van der Meer for assistance during the patient inclusion process; and Marieke Prevoo and Brendy van den Akker for assistance with the immunohistochemistry and uorescence microscopy.