Usage of invisible near infrared light (NIR) fluorescence with indocyanine green (ICG) and methylene blue (MB) in urological oncology. Part 1

Abstract

IntroductionNear infrared (NIR) technology has recently garnered much interest as a tool for intraoperative image–guided surgery in various surgical sub–disciplines. In urology, although nascent, NIR technology is also fostering much enthusiasm.This review discusses the two major fluorophores, indocyanine green (ICG) and methlyene blue (MB), with NIR guidance in experimental and clinical urology. The authors aim to illustrate and analyze the currently available initial studies to better understand the potential and practicability of NIR–guided imaging in the diagnosis and surgical outcome improvement.In the first part of the study we analyzed problems associated with sentinel lymph node biopsy, NIR–guided detection and imaging of tumors.Material and methodsPubMed and Medline databases were searched for ICG and MB use in urological settings, along with data published in abstracts of urological conferences.ResultsAlthough NIR–guided ICG and MB are still in their initial phases, there have been significant developments in major domains of urology, including uro–oncological surgery: 1) sentinel lymph node biopsy, 2) detection and imaging of tumorsConclusionsMuch like in other fields of surgical medicine, the application of NIR technology in urology is at its early stages. Therefore, more studies are needed to assess the true potential and limitations of the technology. However, initial developments hint towards a pioneering tool that may influence various aspects of urology.

Current Trends and Emerging Future of Indocyanine Green Usage in Surgery and Oncology: An Update

“…Additional topics of interest were anatomical imaging methods, economics of ICG imaging, clinical outcomes, and comparisons with currently accepted methods. Because this review was intended to provide an update, not a reiteration, of previous work, series of ten or more patients where ICG was used for SLN mapping were included if they were not already discussed in the reviews by Xiong et al 15 and Polom et al 14,17,18 To ensure all relevant articles were included a second 'pass' was performed by scanning reference lists of the included articles. Figure 2 illustrates the selection process for articles included in this review.…”

Evolution and emerging future of cytoreducxtive surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemoperfusion in gastric cancer: From treating the incurable to preventing recurrence

“…A new imaging modality is available using near infrared fluorescence (NIRF). This image-guided tool using fluorophores has gained vast interest among different medical disciplines such as surgery, oncology, urology, and many others [48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56]. In the case of performing CRS and HIPEC, it might be used in the safe visualisation of important structures such as ureters [48].…”

Near Infrared Transillumination Technology as Additional Tool for Prostate Cancer Detection in vitro after Prostatectomy

“…Consequently, seeking of efficient methods for detection of cancerous outgrowths in the prostatectomy specimens is subject of high interest. On the other hand, the use of Near Infrared Radiation (NIR) technology has garnered interest as a tool for intraoperative imageguided surgery in various surgical sub-disciplines for prostate [9][10][11].…”