Clapper, Patti, Schweizer and Mason

A new high-tech dynamic imaging technique for fighting mesothelioma uses a decidedly low-tech ingredients.  Scientists at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) have discovered that they can use the chemical luminescence created by fireflies to aid surgeons in eliminating cancer cells. 

The results of a study published in the Annals of Surgical Oncology, show that by injecting the luciferase gene found in fireflies directly into malignant mesothelial cells, they can be more easily spotted- and removed- by surgeons in the operating theater.  The luciferase gene causes these cancer cells to give of a bioluminescent glow that makes them extremely easy to spot, even with the naked eye when clustered.  In fact, the more cells in proximity to each other, the brighter the glow, and the more simple the detection. 

This genetic modification of the mesothelioma cell is novel, but the theory behind it is not.  Scientists have been using similar “glow gene” for years in animal testing to provide easily verifiable results and to pinpoint certain cell types of interest.  It has been used to combat a host of human diseases including AIDs.  This line of mesothelioma research is really just a logical extension of something scientists have been using in other fields. 

Up until this point, this bioluminescence research has been confined to animals – specifically mice.  However, researchers have discovered that not only does this biochemical glow make cancer cells easier to spot, it may also help detect metastasis as well.  Certain lab mice were injected with the gene in the flank – where cancer cells were known to be present.  However, the glow led scientists to discover cancer cells in the abdomen where “seed cells” had clustered after metastasis. 

Though this experiment shows promise, the technique is still far from ready to use in humans.  However, researchers are hopeful that it may one day aid in surgical mesothelioma treatments.  Indeed, doctors have already been able to replicate cytoreductive surgery in genetically modified mice.  Due to the nature of mesothelioma tumors, they are extremely difficult to differentiate when clustered in and around similar healthy tissues.  The bioluminescence makes the mesothelioma tumors stand out and surgeons can more easily separate the mass of connected cancerous tissue  from the healthy tissue surrounding it. 

As a sign of just how powerful this new tool may be, in mice “where tumor ablation was continued until the bioluminescence signal was extinguished, there was no tumor recurrence.”  The cancer was totally removed from the afflicted mice and did not reappear.  That is completely unheard of in research where mesothelioma doctors can only hope to create temporary windows of respite from the onslaught of asbestos cancer and diseases. 

If indeed this bioluminescent therapy can be “ported” to human mesothelioma patients, it could be one of the most powerful tools developed to fight this deadly cancer yet.