WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., December 12, 2024 – Disease-specific molecular imaging agents, like the folate-receptor targeted agent CYTALUX® (pafolacianine) injection, are poised to revolutionize fluorescence-guided surgery (FGS).
In a recent case series report, “Let it glow: Intraoperative visualization of pulmonary metastases using pafolacianine, a next-generation fluorescent agent, for young adults undergoing pulmonary metastasectomy” by Alison Lehan et al, published in Pediatric Blood Cancer, surgeons found that CYTALUX demonstrated utility in aiding the detection and resection of metastatic osteosarcoma lesions during pulmonary metastasectomy procedures in young adult patients.
The report reviews the results of five fluorescence-guided pulmonary metastasectomy operations. In one case, CYTALUX identified a pleural-based lesion that had not been previously noted under white light, and which was found to contain viable malignancy upon pathologic evaluation. In all patients, there were no significant surgical complications or serious adverse events related to infusion of CYTALUX.
“While CYTALUX has already been approved for adult lung and ovarian cancers, this report demonstrates a proof of concept for pediatric surgeons treating young adults with pulmonary metastatic sarcomas,” said Timothy Lautz, MD, Associate Professor of Surgery at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Director of Surgical Oncology at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and report lead. “This serves as a critical next step in expanding its use and potentially leading to better patient outcomes.”
Overall, the report findings support the clinical utility, safety and versatility of CYTALUX in aiding the precise localization and resection of metastatic lesions during pulmonary metastasectomy procedures in young adult osteosarcoma patients.
Novel agents used in FGS, like CYTALUX which targets tumor-specific folate-receptors, promises increased sensitivity and specificity for detecting metastatic nodules and enhancing surgical clearance of disease, with the potential overall for better patient outcomes.
Lehane A, Polites SF, Dodd A, Goldstein SD, Lautz TB. Let it glow: Intraoperative visualization of pulmonary metastases using pafolacianine, a next-generation fluorescent agent, for young adults undergoing pulmonary metastasectomy. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2024 Nov;71(11):e31293. doi: 10.1002/pbc.31293. Epub 2024 Aug 27. PMID: 39192706.
About On Target Laboratories, Inc.
On Target Laboratories discovers and develops targeted intraoperative molecular imaging agents to illuminate cancer during surgery. Their molecular imaging technology, based on the pioneering work of Philip S. Low, PhD, Purdue University’s Presidential Scholar for Drug Discovery and the Ralph C. Corley Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, is comprised of a near-infrared dye and a targeting molecule, or ligand, that binds to receptors overexpressed on cancer cells. The imaging agents illuminate the cancerous tissue, which may enable surgeons to detect more cancer that otherwise may have been left behind.
CYTALUX, the Company’s first product, received FDA approval of a New Drug Application for ovarian cancer in November 2021 and a supplemental New Drug Application for lung cancer in December 2022. CYTALUX targets the folate receptors commonly found on many cancers, binds to the cancerous tissue, and illuminates under near-infrared light. A single dose of the agent is administered via intravenous infusion prior to surgery and assists surgeons in visually identifying additional cancerous tissue to be removed during the operation. For more information and to view full Prescribing Information visit www.ontargetlabs.com and www.cytalux.com.