Light up my tumor: Giving surgeons hope

Cancer remains primarily a surgical disease with 75% of solid malignancies treated with surgery at some point during their management. Limited resectable tissue mass and complicated anatomical structures create tension between an extensive resection and preserving normal function. Defining a consistent border between normal and involved tissues at the primary site and identifying tumor containing lymph nodes remain very challenging for surgeons in most disease types. Advances in optical hardware and reagents have provided unique opportunities for real-time imaging during surgical resection or pathological assessment. Optical imaging has been reported using a range of exogenous and endogenous fluorescent agents; we present early clinical trial data in the field of optical imaging for the diagnosis and treatment in solid tumors.