Illuminating cancer: AdventHealth uses new tools during lung cancer surgery to save time, lives

AdventHealth became the first hospital in Florida to use a fluorescent dye that lights up cancer cells during surgery. This groundbreaking technology is now providing faster, more accurate treatment for patients.
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  • Kristi Powers
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Care Perspectives

A new tool is helping surgeons at AdventHealth transform lung cancer surgery and help save more lives. Cytalux is a fluorescent dye that lights up cancer cells during surgery. As the first hospital in Florida and the second in the U.S. to use this groundbreaking technology, AdventHealth is providing faster, more accurate treatment for patients.

Dr. Gaughan goes over patient Reena Caprario's Cytalux images taken during her lung cancer surgery.
Dr. Gaughan goes over patient Reena Caprario's Cytalux images taken during her lung cancer surgery.

“This new advancement helps patients by reducing the need for secondary surgeries and minimizing operating room time,” explains Dr. Colleen Gaughan, thoracic surgeon at the AdventHealth Heart, Lung and Vascular Institute.

Cytalux is administered as an IV medication before surgery and circulates through the patient’s body during the procedure.

“It gets taken up by the tumor and then during surgery, while (the patient is) already asleep, we use our special near-infrared camera to then see the (cancerous) tumor glowing in real time,” Gaughan recently told Yahoo News. She added that it helps surgeons pinpoint affected areas with more precision.

“Before this was available to us, we had to rely on CT scans or invasive techniques like injecting dye or placing wires into the tumor,” Gaughan told the CancerNetwork. “These older methods added time and expense to the procedure.”

This innovation has already saved lives, including Reena Caprario, who was diagnosed with stage one lung cancer last year.

“My lymph nodes under my armpits were hurting. I thought, this isn’t normal,” Caprario said. After her surgery with Dr. Gaughan, she has been cancer-free for over a year. Caprario is one of more than 40 patients who have benefitted from using Cytalux during surgery at AdventHealth Celebration.

“They (patients) experience little to no side effects. The most common side effects are itching or nausea,” Gaughan told Becker’s Healthcare podcast.

Dr. Gaughan credits early detection, advanced technology, and her dedicated team for these life-changing results. She urges high-risk individuals to get screened annually.

“If you know that something is wrong, don’t blow it off,” Caprario advises during a recent WFTV News interview.

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