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UT Southwestern researchers seek to light up cancer cells so surgeons can better see where to cut

Baran Sumer, M.D.

Baran Sumer, M.D.

Baran Sumer, M.D. Professor and Chief of the Division of Head and Neck Oncology in UT Southwestern’s Department of Otolaryngology and a team of researchers from the Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center developed a technology called a pH Nanosensor, an injection that seeks out cancerous areas in the body and causes them to light up. The removal of cancerous tumors through surgery is an often life-saving treatment option--- but it's not an exact science. The goal is to help surgeons more precisely determine how much to cut and possibly reduce the need for extra procedures. In findings published in Nature Biomedical Engineering, the injection had positive results in a study of mice with tumors of the head, neck and breast.

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