A new method is one of the first users to be used throughout the world in colorectal cancer screening / Mainzer Uniklinik Univ.-Prof. Dr. Helmut Neumann's special field is the early detection of cancer-susceptible intestinal tissue. Since 2016 he has been in charge of interdisciplinary endoscopy.
By Lisa Maucher MAINZ - As one of the first hospitals in Europe, Mainz University Hospital is investing in a new, particularly fast procedure for early colon cancer detection. Within the scope of a colonoscopy, the "WavStat Optical Biopsy System" can be used to determine within one second whether a polyp in the intestine is a malignant tumor. If so, the fast "in vivo diagnosis" allows an immediate planning of a therapy.
Colorectal cancer can be cured 100% with an early diagnosis. Early detection is therefore essential at this point. The fact is that around 26,000 people die from colorectal cancer in Germany. And 62,000 people each year develop colorectal cancer. Regular colonoscopy is recommended by experts. The new "WavStat Optical Biopsy System" enables the detection of the smallest precursors of colorectal cancer.
"The new process can hardly be surpassed in efficiency and speed. The tissue is found in vivo, that is during the endoscopic examination of a patient, "explains Univ.-Prof. Dr. Helmut Neumann. Since September 2016, he has been head of interdisciplinary endoscopy at the First Medical Clinic and Polyclinic at the University of Mainz. This new method makes it possible to immediately plan another therapy.
Selective detection of the tissue with the forceps
But how does this new method work? The WavStat optical biopsy system is based on the principle of spectroscopy. It uses a low-energy wave light that has been integrated into biopsy forceps for tissue sampling. The tissue is first selectively grasped with the forceps, then a foot switch is actuated. Within one second the results of the tissue are displayed in color on the monitor. Green stands for hyperplastic, harmless tissue, and red stands for an adenoma, ie a cancer precursor.
According to Neumann, the WavStat system may also be used to detect chronic inflammatory diseases or to diagnose diseases in the esophageal mucosa.
Prior to his appointment to Unimedizin Mainz, Helmut Neumann was the owner of the first professorship for molecular endoscopy in Bavaria at the Erlangen University Hospital. There, he played a major role in the development of new diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. Since then, he has focused on the research of highly specific recognition substances - so-called molecular markers, with which cancer-susceptible intestinal tissue can be detected at an early stage and treated individually. It also raises the question of how a prediction of the therapy response can be achieved in patients with chronic inflammatory disease
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