Development of a Fluorescent Visualization System for Non-visible Lung Cancer Nodules

To date, lung resection and lymphadenectomy remain the best curative option in patients with early-stage non-small cell lung cancer. Moreover, cancer screening programs have led to a frequent diagnoses of indeterminate lung lesions, many of which require surgical biopsy for diagnosis and intervention. Additionally, pre-operative imaging assessment frequently underestimates lymph-node involvement. Finally, the increase in the utilization of minimally invasive procedures remains mandatory. The aim of our project is to verify if Cetuximab-IRDye800 could detect cancer nodules and lymph node metastases during minimally invasive thoracic surgery. A result favoring the use of Cetuximab-IRDye800 would permit the use of a minimally invasive approach to a more significant number of patients, which are presently operable only by a traditional "open" approach. Consequentially, it would lead to an improvement in surgical outcomes, a reduction of costs, and an enhanced patient quality of life. In addition, a result favoring Cetuximab-IRDye800 could consent to correctly remove mislead metastatic lymph nodes (i.e., unexpected lymph-nodes metastasis) and neoplastic localization unidentified at pre-operative diagnostic assessments. It would lead to more accurate cancer staging, and a tailored post-operative treatment. Finally, the investigators expect to validate using Cetuximab-IRDye800 as an optimal tracker that can be easily applied intraoperatively during minimally invasive surgical procedures.