The multidisciplinary work team formed by the group of Cell Signaling and Therapeutic Targets in Cancer of IDIVAL; the Optics group of the University of Cantabria (UC) and the Neurosurgery service of the Marqués de Valdecilla University Hospital (HUMV); Together with the company Fotoglass, specialized in biomedical optics, a spin off of UC, they have developed two new devices based on plasmonic technology – plasmonic chip – for the discrimination of the different tumor regions and thus help in the surgical treatment of glioblastoma.
Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common primary brain tumor in adults and one of the most aggressive and lethal. The standard treatment today is surgery followed by radiation therapy and chemotherapy with temozolomide.
GBM is a highly invasive tumor, making complete resection difficult. The most problematic region, from the surgical point of view, is the one that corresponds to the tumor margins.
These new devices make it possible to identify necrotic, tumor and peritumoral tissue in real time, facilitating the work of the neurosurgeon at the time of surgical intervention for glioblastoma or GBM, since they allow tumor determinations that do not require patient preparation.
This collaboration arises from the Sentir project and from which, a prototype capable of detecting tumor cells in the blood, in a non-invasive way, and counting them was created, in order to have very precise information on the evolution of the disease and the effect of the antitumor treatment applied to the patient.
The team has already contacted a multinational company, specialized in surgical equipment, which has taken an interest in manufacturing the devices.
Cell Signaling and Therapeutic Targets in Cancer of IDIVAL
