Montreal, March 19, 2018 - For a quarter of a century, the magazine Québec Science maintains the tradition: every autumn, a jury of researchers and journalists selects the 10 most impressive Quebec discoveries of the past year, and the public is then invited to vote for the one of their choice. This year, it's the anti-cancer probe, which won over readers, with almost a third of the 4,400 votes cast in the Discoveries of the year 2017.
When surgeons remove a tumor from a patient's brain, they do their best to remove any cancerous cells that may surround it, in order to prevent recurrence. Whether tumoral or not, many cells remain undetectable by microscopy. Once the operation is complete, the surgeon replaces the piece of skull and closes the scalp. The limitations associated with this procedure will soon be a thing of the past, thanks to the anti-cancer probe that is the result of collaboration between the following researchers Frédéric Leblond, Polytechnique Montréal and the Centre de recherche du Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal, and Kevin Petrecca, the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital and the McGill University Health Centre, and numerous collaborators from these institutions, as well as the American company Emvision.
The pencil-sized probe is equipped with optical filters, sensors and lasers. During surgery, it scans brain tissue for residual cancer cells in a fraction of a second. It does this by stimulating the cells with light and analyzing the resulting spectral signature. With an efficiency approaching 100%, the probe also detects colon, skin and lung cancer cells in the form of brain metastases.
«The award-winning Québec Science cancer cell detection probe is the result of a transdisciplinary approach that brings together engineers and doctors in the same team. This type of collaboration is fruitful and leads to technological innovations that will provide better care for cancer patients in the future. The public recognition we are receiving today is a great encouragement to continue our work», says Frédéric Leblond.
«We are honored that our work has been awarded the title of Scientific Discovery of the Year, 2017. I would like to thank all the people who voted for us and all those who participated in this research project. We are convinced that this discovery will have a positive impact on the lives of people with cancer,» emphasizes Kevin Petrecca.
«The spectre of recurrence haunts all cancer survivors and their loved ones. This discovery offers them incredible hope. That's why our readers were so touched by this discovery, and so impressed by the ingenuity of the tool,» says the editor-in-chief of Québec Science, Marie Lambert-Chan.
Also taking part in the discovery: Kelly Aubertin, Joannie Desroches, Marie-Christine Guiot, Andrée-Anne Grosset, Michael Jermyn, Jason Karamchandani, Wendy-Julie Madore, Eric Marple, Jeanne Mercier, Karl St-Arnaud, Mathias Strupler, Dominique Trudel and Kirk Urmey.
