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Cover story in Science Translational Medicine: iThera’s MSOT technology could save many skin cancer patients from unnecessary operations

The first clinical trial of MSOT, iThera’s innovative imaging technique, has made it onto the cover of the prestigious journal Science Translational Medicine. The study being conducted at Essen University Hospital was designed to show if MSOT can detect the spread of malignant melanoma to adjacent lymph nodes. This diagnosis is crucial for further therapy decisions, as patients whose lymph nodes have already been invaded by cancer cells have a significantly worse prognosis and require more intensive treatment. Up to now the standard procedure has been to remove the nearest lymph nodes and analyse them in the laboratory – with the result that in around 85% of cases the operation had been unnecessary.

The use of MSOT could change this, according to the results of the study. Using lymph node samples, the scientists first showed that with the help of MSOT, cancer cells can be detected very reliably and with significantly more sensitivity than with conventional methods. They then examined several patients using MSOT scans before the operation, and were able to rule out the presence of cancer cells in lymph nodes in around half of the patients. There was not a single false-negative result.

Clinical trials continue in cooperation, and iThera is expecting a further publication with results from larger patient cohorts in the near future.