New drug to make brain cancer cells glow during surgery

A drug that makes brain cancer cells glow during surgery is being used for the first time in Australia, local media reported on Tuesday. The drug called gliolan can help neurosurgeons to identify cancerous tissue during surgery and remove more of it. Royal Melbourne Hospital neurosurgeon Dr Kate Drummond performed one of the first operations using the drug last Friday when she operated on a 53-year-old man with a malignant glioma. "This drug basically helps us visualize the tumor better so that we can differentiate tumor from normal brain. So we can remove more of the tumor than was possible before and so that we can protect the normal brain," Dr Drummond told ABC News Online on Tuesday, adding that the technique is already commonly used in Europe and the United Kingdom. She said it makes the complex surgery safer for the patient. "It might seem astonishing, but in fact often the difference in appearance between tumor and brain is not as obvious as you might think... being able to clearly differentiate between tumor and normal brain using this drug makes things a lot easier for us," she said. "It's a straightforward way to make surgery both more effective and safer. So I think that there will probably be higher uptake of this kind of procedure across Australia." She said as with any drug there is a risk of allergic reaction, but the main side effect of this one is that it makes people sensitive to light for a day. Dr Drummond said her patient, who was "brave enough to try something new", went home 48 hours after the surgery and is still recovering.