Oncotarget
-
Detection and resection of all malignant lesions is pivotal in staging and cytoreductive surgery (CRS) of endometrial cancer (EC). Intraoperative EC detection could be enhanced using OTL-38, a fluorescent-labelled folate receptor-α (FRα) targeted imaging agent. The objectives of this study were to investigate which subgroups of high-risk EC patients express FRα and assess feasibility of intraoperative EC detection using OTL-38. ⋯ Immunohistochemical (IHC) staining of FRα expression was performed on tissue micro arrays (TMA) of 116 patients with high-risk EC features. Patients with either serous or clear cell EC, planned for staging or CRS, were eligible for inclusion in the clinical study and received an intravenous dose of 0.0125 mg/kg OTL-38, 2-3 hours prior to surgery. Resected lesions, identified by standard-of-care and/or fluorescence imaging, were histopathologically assessed for FRα and tumor status.