Overview

• The single tracer couples fluorine-18 PET imaging with a fluorescein-based optical signal to support both planning and real-time surgical guidance.
• In mouse xenograft models, the agent concentrated in PSMA-expressing tumors, producing strong PET uptake and bright fluorescence without specialized visual equipment.
• The approach could let surgeons visually identify cancer while using a handheld radiation probe to detect hidden disease in lymph nodes or nearby tissues.
• The work from UBC and BC Cancer is published in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry and supported by Canadian Institutes of Health Research funding.
• Next steps include GMP manufacturing, formal toxicity studies, and validation runs prior to any human trials, with the design intended for use in standard hospital settings, including smaller centers.