March 1, 2011

The Terry Fox Research Institute (TFRI) has awarded Dentistry associate professor Dr. Catherine Poh and members of the BC Oral Cancer Prevention Program team a $5 million grant.

This grant will support a Canada-wide Phase III randomized surgical trial to further evaluate fluorescence visualization (FV) as a visual enhancement tool in oral cancer surgery. The trial—involving multiple centres and disciplines— is already running in BC and will soon be underway across the country.

Dr. Catherine Poh uses a flourescence visualization (FV) light tool (L) and normal tissue exposed to light in the blue energy range (FV) appears green, cancerous or precancerouslesions lose flourescence and appear dark brown.

Poh is a pioneer in the use of FV, a light tool that uses optics to detect cancerous margins and helps surgeons determine the extent of the high-risk tissue. Poh has seen recurrence rates in oral cancer reduced from 25 percent to almost zero through application of FV.

For more information, read the article, “Reaching Out to Combat Oral Cancer”