Abstract

In head and neck cancer, surgical resection using primarily visual and tactile feedback is considered gold standard for solid tumors. Due to high numbers of tumor-involved surgical margins which are directly correlated to poor clinical outcome, intraoperative optical imaging trials have rapidly proliferated over the past five years. However, few studies report on intraoperative in situ imaging data that could support surgical resection. To demonstrate the clinical application of in situ surgical imaging, we report on the imaging data that is directly (i.e. in real-time) available to the surgeon.Fluorescence intensities and tumor-to-background ratios (TBRs) were determined from the intraoperative imaging data - the view as seen by the surgeon during tumor resection - of 20 patients and correlated to patient and tumor characteristics including age, sex, tumor site, tumor size, histological differentiation and EGFR expression. Furthermore, different lighting conditions in regard to surgical workflow were evaluated.Under these circumstances, intraoperative TBRs of the primary tumors averaged 2.2±0.4 (range 1.5-2.9). Age, sex, tumor site, and tumor size did not have a significant effect on open-field intraoperative molecular imaging of the primary tumors (p>0.05). In addition, variation in EGFR expression levels or the presence of ambient light did not seem to alter TBRs.We present the results of successful in situ intraoperative imaging of primary tumors alongside the optimal conditions with respect to both molecular image acquisition and surgical workflow. This study illuminates the potentials of open-field molecular imaging to assist the surgeon in achieving successful cancer removal.

View details for DOI 10.1016/j.jamcollsurg.2019.09.007

View details for PubMedID 31568855