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A28 SCIENCE
Thursday 7 sepTember 2017

Testing probe to help cancer surgeons know they got it all

By LAURAN NEERGAARD ate read-out in under a ence Translational Medi-
AP Medical Writer minute,” said UT research cine. They also success-
WASHINGTON (AP) — Pa- engineer Noah Giese.How fully used the pen during
tients emerging from can- it works: Cells produce a handful of operations on
cer surgery want to know, unique sets of small mol- mice.
“Did you get it all?” Now ecules that perform vari- “It’s intriguing technol-
scientists are developing ous functions — and thus ogy,” said Dr. Nita Ahuja,
a pen-like probe to help also act as fingerprints. Re- chief of surgical oncology
surgeons better tell when searchers place the pen- at Johns Hopkins Medi-
it’s safe to stop cutting or if like device directly onto cine, who wasn’t involved
stray tumor cells still lurk. tissue, press a foot pedal in the work.Surgeons need
The device is highly ex- to switch it on, and a tiny new tools to catch residual
perimental, but laboratory amount of water emerges cancer in the operating
tests show it uses molecular to gently pull molecules room, and developing mo-
fingerprints to distinguish This photo provided by the University of Texas at Austin, shows from the cells in that spot. lecular techniques to try is
between cancerous cells scientist Jialing Zhang as he demonstrates using the MasSpec A tube carries the drop- a hot new field, Ahuja said.
and healthy ones far faster Pen to analyze a human tissue sample. let to a machine called a While she stressed that the
than today’s technology, Associated Press mass spectrometer that hand-held pen needs lots
Texas researchers reported testing the device dur- examine it under the mi- identifies molecules by cal- more research to prove if
Wednesday. ing surgeries, starting with croscope. For certain es- culating their mass. Soft- it really works, she said it
“That’s really anyone’s breast cancer, early next pecially tricky tumors, sur- ware then immediately might be easier to use than
worst nightmare, to go year.When surgeons think geons sometimes pause for analyzes whether the re- some other candidates
through surgery and know they’ve removed all of a a half-hour to more than an sulting fingerprint matches under development.If it
there’s a chance” some tumor, they often also re- hour, the patient still under cancer or healthy tissue. pans out, doctors would
cancer remains, said as- move a thin layer of sur- anesthesia, to await the re- In lab tests of samples that have to place the pen on
sistant chemistry professor rounding tissue, called the sults. For breast cancer and had been taken from 253 multiple spots to check an
Livia Eberlin of the Universi- margin, to be sure no can- certain other types, often patients with lung, ovary, entire wound. Researchers
ty of Texas at Austin, who is cer cells linger at the edge the answer doesn’t arrive thyroid or breast tumors, noted it doesn’t appear
leading the work. “By pro- and increase the risk of re- until a few days after sur- the so-called “MasSpec to harm tissue, meaning
viding real-time molecular lapse. gery, raising the possibility Pen” was more than 96 pathologists still could dou-
information, we could re- The problem: That check of repeat operations. percent accurate in diag- ble-check with standard
ally improve accuracy.” takes time, for pathologists In contrast, “our device is nosing cancer, researchers techniques when human
Her team aims to begin to process the tissue and able to give an immedi- reported in the journal Sci- testing begins.q
3 scientists, Planned Parenthood

win Lasker medical prizes

By MALCOLM RITTER John Schiller of the U.S. Na- In the U.S., HPV vaccines
AP Science Writer tional Cancer Institute. In are recommended for
NEW YORK (AP) — Two sci- the early 1990s they began boys and girls.
entists who paved the way work that would eventually The Lasker award for ba-
for widely used vaccines lead to vaccines against sic medical research went
and another who discov- human papillomavirus, or to Michael N. Hall of the
ered key players in cell HPV, which causes cervi- Biozentrum Institute at the
growth have been award- cal cancer and some other University of Basel in Swit-
ed prestigious medical re- cancers. They showed that zerland. Starting in the
search awards. a particular viral protein 1990s, he discovered and
The Albert and Mary Lask- could provoke a strong im- studied proteins that serve
er Foundation also an- mune response against the as a master regulator of
nounced Wednesday that virus. cell growth, one that re-
it was giving its public ser- U.S. regulators approved sponds to the availability
vice award to Planned vaccines that used their of nutrients. Defects relat-
Parenthood. Each award approach, called Gardasil ed to those “TOR” proteins
In this Thursday, Nov. 20, 2014, file photo, Douglas Lowy, left, includes a $250,000 hono- and Cervarix, in 2006 and contribute to diabetes and
and John Schiller, of the National Cancer Institute, National Insti- rarium. 2009. By 2015, millions of cancer, and scientists are
tutes of Health are awarded the National Medal of Technology The foundation’s clinical women around the world developing anti-cancer
and Innovation by President Barack Obama, during a ceremo- research award is shared had been given HPV vac- drugs based on them, the
ny in the East Room of the White House in Washington. by Dr. Douglas Lowy and cines, the foundation said. foundation said. q
Associated Press