Grant: Operating Grant

GI (gastrointestinal) cancer constitutes a major health problem worldwide. In North America, the mortality for carcinomas of the colon is second only to lung cancer. An estimated 9,100 Canadians will die of colorectal cancer in 2009. Gastric carcinoma is a leading health problem in Japan, whereas esophageal cancer is common in developing countries. The probability of surviving GI cancers improves dramatically if it is caught early, but fewer than half of new cases are identified at the earliest most curable stages. In clinical practice, the detection of GI cancer is performed using white light endoscopy. Diagnoses are based on biopsies obtained from areas with abnormal structural or color appearance, and occasionally by random biopsy. Early cancerous lesions frequently have subtle changes in color and structure and hence hard to be identified via white light endoscopy. New detection methods are urgently needed to guide biopsy and consequently improve the early detection of GI cancers. We will develop a miniaturized endoscopic microscopy probe to noninvasively acquire microscopy level images of the GI tract to help early detection. The key technical challenge is the development of a miniaturized two-dimensional positioning system to scan a laser beam inside the tissue to form an image of the tissue fine structure at cellular level resolution. This project will involve collaboration between biophotonics investigators at the BC Cancer Agency and a microfabrication and nanotechnology group at UBC. Upon successful development of the device, a clinician from the Vancouver General Hospital will conduct tests to demonstrate the usefulness of the device for early GI cancer detection on patients and provide pilot data for the next phase clinical trial planning and sample size calculations. It is anticipated that Canadian patients with GI cancers will benefit from this new technology for detecting their cancers earlier and thereby improving survial.