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Neurosurgeons at Allegheny General Hospital (AGH) are exploring use of a drug that illuminates brain tumor cells to determine if the experimental visualization technique will enhance their ability to surgically excise tumors and improve patient survival.

AGH is one of just three medical centers in the country approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to investigate the efficacy of an oral fluorescent compound, called 5-aminoevulnic acid (ALA), in a clinical trial of patients diagnosed with a glioma, the most common form of primary brain tumor.

Gliomas strike an estimated 10-12 thousand people each year in the United States and vary in severity. High grade gliomas, such as glioblastoma multiforma, are rapidly progressive and fatal malignant tumors. Low grade gliomas are more treatable, but also pose a risk of becoming cancerous overtime.

Regardless of grade, however, removing as much of a glial tumor as possible is critical to the patient's outcome, said Matthew Quigley, MD, director of AGH's Division of Neurosurgical Oncology.

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