An AI tool called FastGlioma helps brain surgeons find cancerous tissue during surgery that is hard to see with the naked eye. This allows them to remove the cancer while the patient is still under anesthesia or plan targeted treatments for later.
Why It’s Important
- Hidden cancer cells can cause brain tumors to grow back.
- FastGlioma misses high-risk tumors only 3.8% of the time, compared to 24% with regular methods.
- The tool could also be used for surgeries involving other cancers like breast, lung, and prostate.
Brain tumors that return are harder to treat, and survival rates drop significantly, especially for aggressive tumors. The AI tool, developed by the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), and the University of Michigan, can delay or even prevent tumor regrowth.
How It Works
FastGlioma uses AI combined with imaging technology called Stimulated Raman Histology (SRH) to analyze tissue samples in just 1–2 minutes during surgery. The system is trained on a massive database of over 11,000 tumor specimens and 4 million microscopic images, giving it the ability to distinguish between cancerous and healthy tissue with high accuracy.
- Surgeons get results within 10 seconds, helping them make quick decisions during surgery.
- If leftover cancer can’t be surgically removed, targeted treatments like radiation or chemotherapy can start right away.
Study Results
In a study involving 220 patients with brain tumors, FastGlioma helped surgeons reduce leftover high-risk cancer to just 3.8% of cases, compared to 24% without the tool.
Future Potential
This tool could improve outcomes for patients by ensuring more complete tumor removal. Similar AI techniques are being tested for other types of cancer surgeries.
Though FastGlioma is not yet FDA-approved, experts believe it could change how cancer surgeries are performed, offering faster and more accurate results than current methods.
Source: cancerhealth
