Fluorescent guidance to surgical oncologists

FluoGuide’s technology platform may be utilized in multiple ways, and one such way is by providing fluorescent visual guidance to surgeons conducting curative surgery. This application of FluoGuide’s technology platform is currently being applied in clinical trials.

Images from: Skjøth-Rasmussen, J. et al. (2021). A new uPAR-targeting fluorescent probe for optical guided intracranial surgery in resection of a meningioma—a case report. Acta Neurochirurgica. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00701-021-05051-3

In essence, FluoGuide is able to combine molecules that target uPAR (urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor), which is highly prevalent within and on the forefront of most kinds of solid cancers, and fluorophores (chemical compounds that can emit light under certain conditions). These novel compounds make up FluoGuide’s pipeline.

How FluoGuide creates visual fluorescent guidance for surgeon

Binding the compound to the tumor

First, FluoGuide’s compound is administered to the patient. Here, as an injection:

Following the administration to the patient, FluoGuide’s compound attaches itself to uPARs within the patient. uPAR is highly prevalent on the perimeter of solid tumors, meaning that FluoGuide’s compound is now found in high concentration on and within the patient’s cancerous tumor(s):

The cancer “lights up”

In the second phase of the process, FluoGuide’s compound will start to fluoresce (emit green light) and make the cancer clearly visible to the surgeon:

On the cellular level, each molecule starts to emit light after light excitation during surgery:

This creates clear visual guidance to the surgeon for removing the main cancerous tumor, and in addition local metastasis (small cancer islands sometimes less than one millimeter wide/long) that also needs to be removed to cure the patient, becomes visible to the surgeon:

The surgeon conducts curative surgery

The cancer, including local metastasis, are visible to the surgeon creating better conditions for successful surgery:

The process allows the surgeon to remove cancer cells while sparing normal tissue:

FluoGuide introduction video

In this introduction video, you can see how our knowledge of uPAR is applied to create fluorescent guidance for surgical oncologists: