Professor Euiheon Chung's research team develops endoscopic treatment of early colorectal cancer using non-ablative fractional laser therapy
□ Professor Euiheon Chung of the Department of Biomedical Science and Engineering at the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST, President Seung Hyeon Moon) has demonstrated a novel treatment method that inhibits the growth of early colorectal cancer by applying non-ablative fractional laser * therapy.
* A parallel laser is divided into a non-ablative parallel laser and an ablative parallel laser.
∘ The endoscopic resection used in the treatment of early colorectal cancer had a risk of hemorrhage and perforation. Therefore, the researchers sought to find a treatment method with lower invasiveness *.
* It means the degree of injury to the living body.
□ The non-ablative fractional laser used in the study is a device that irradiates the laser of the infrared region in a certain pattern to the tissue and is widely used for the purpose of beauty in the dermatology field. Unlike ablative lasers that remove the entire skin layer, it is a less invasive method because it can minimize damage to the surrounding tissue.
∘ The research team investigated tumor growth in comparison with the non-irradiated group by irradiating the tumor with a non-ablative fractional laser on the area of the colon tumor. In order to realize this, various methods were tried.
∘ An orthotopic colon cancer mouse model * with a high success rate was produced using endoscopic injection method, and a laser system capable of being irradiated through an endoscope using optical fiber was developed. In addition, laser treatment could be performed on tumor sites inside the large intestine of a live mouse without sacrificing the mice or performing special surgical procedures.
* It refers to a model with a tumor in the organs where the tumor actually originated.
∘ In addition, computer simulation confirmed the safety of the surrounding tissues, except for the irradiation points of the non-epithelial pharyngeal lasers with confirmation of the infiltration of inflammatory cells, which is considered to be a mechanism of tumor growth inhibition.
□ Professor Euiheon Chung said, "This was the first use of a non-ablative fractional laser for the treatment of early colorectal cancer. Because this procedure is less invasiveness than conventional endoscopic treatment methods, it is expected that better treatment results will be obtained with more optimization and in combination with other therapies."
