The tool, dubbed the MasSpec Pen, allows surgeons removing a tumor to detect cancerous cells in tissues in seconds, allowing them to know immediately if they have found and removed all of the cancer. The study in Science Translational Medicine said the pen can identify cancerous tissue during surgery in about 10 seconds. It can identify the cancerous cells through distinct molecules called metabolites. That identifies any residual cancer in seconds, with a monitor linked to the pen declaring "normal" or "cancer." That allows surgeons to keep cleaning out cancerous cells until they are near-certain to have cleared everything.

Source: The Nation Bangkok September 07, 2017 00:11 UTC