GREEN BAY (NBC 26) — Surgeons in northeast Wisconsin now have a new tool to help them detect cancer cells that might otherwise remain invisible — a medical dye called Cytalux that makes hidden cancerous tissue glow during surgery.
Dr. Erin Stevens, a gynecologic oncologist in Green Bay, recently became the first physician in northeast Wisconsin to use Cytalux in an operation, giving her what she describes as “sight beyond sight.”
“What Cytalux does for us is allow us to light up these cells so we can remove them during surgery,” Dr. Stevens explained. “We were able to remove more cancer than what I could see with my naked eye.”
Her first patient to benefit from this ground-breaking technology was Peggy, a woman from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula diagnosed with early-stage ovarian cancer — often referred to as the “silent killer” because it is typically discovered in its late stages.
Despite chemotherapy, microscopic cancer cells remained. During Peggy’s February surgery, Cytalux highlighted a residual tumor just four millimeters in size — tissue that would have been missed without the dye.
“At the end, we looked around with the camera and found a small area still lighting up,” Dr. Stevens recalled. “We removed it, and it ended up being residual cancer that I didn’t see with my naked eye.”Peggy, who declined to appear on camera, expressed her gratitude in a unique way — by gifting Stevens a Yooperlite rock from the shores of Lake Superior. The glow-in-the-dark stone was a symbolic reminder to “keep looking for the things that you might not be able to see with the naked eye.”
Ovarian cancer remains among the deadliest gynecologic cancers, with the American Cancer Society estimating nearly 21,000 new diagnoses and 12,000 to 14,000 deaths in the U.S. each year. It’s often initially mistaken for age-related issues, with vague symptoms such as bloating, feeling full quickly, and abdominal swelling.
Dr. Stevens says Cytalux is already being used in more complex surgeries in the area and can pick up new lesions about 27% of the time, giving doctors a critical advantage in catching what standard imaging or visual examination might miss.
“To be able to provide this for the first time here is a great opportunity for patients to get cutting-edge therapy close to home,” Dr. Stevens said.
Ten weeks after her surgery, Peggy is recovering well — a promising sign for other cancer patients in northeast Wisconsin who may benefit from the glowing dye in the future.
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