Drs. Kisyo Mihara and Sachiko Matsuda, lecturers at the Keio University School of Medicine, briefly summarize their presentation of a novel tracer imaging for SLN-navigated laparoscopic surgery in gallbladder cancer during the 74th General Meeting of the Japanese Society of Gastroenterological Surgery Conference (Session title: Significance and future prospects of navigation surgery for hepato-pancreato-biliary surgery, July 28, 2019):
“The aim of our study was to evaluate the feasibility of a dual tracer method using super-paramagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) and indocyanine green (ICG) for laparoscopically detecting gallbladder sentinel lymph nodes in a swine.
The combined tracers, ICG and SPIO, were injected laparoscopically into the swine gallbladder wall to perform imaging with invisible near-infrared fluorescent light and ICG for SLN-identification, followed by evaluating the accumulation of SPIO nanoparticles in SLN – with a developed magnetic probe – in wild, as well as in gallbladder cancer model swine. We were able to detect the SLN both from their fluorescent signals and magnetic field 15 minutes after injection. The SLN detected were mainly posterosuperior pancreatic head lymph nodes or hepatic artery lymph.
In conclusion, the dual tracer method using SPIO with ICG was deemed feasible and this new approach could prove useful in investigating individual lymphatic flow in hepatobiliary and pancreatic malignancy.”
Matrix Cell Research Institute Inc. would like to thank Drs. Mihara and Matsuda for making the time to share their valuable research.