Her team will characterize markers physicians can use to identify early lung cancer. We know that lung cancer results from a series of events that begin at the cellular level. Lung cancer will cause an estimated 160,000 deaths this year, accounting for 29 percent of all cancer deaths, and some 190,000 new cases will be diagnosed, according to the American Cancer Society. Currently, the five-year survival rate for all patients diagnosed with lung cancer is only 14 percent due to its advanced stage at diagnosis. The system detects and enhances these differences which are displayed on a color monitor.
Normal tissue appears green and suspicious tissue appears reddish brown.
The UPCI is the only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center in the western Pennsylvania region. The LIFE-Lung is manufactured by Xillix Technologies Corporation of Richmond, B.C., Canada. For more information on cancer treatments and research, please visit the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute Web site.