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An Oklahoma-based surgeon utilizes a new imaging agent that selectively binds to tumor tissue, making it easier to identify and remove.

OnTarget Laboratories developed Cytalux, the first and only optical imaging agent that helps surgeons see what the naked eye can sometimes miss.

The technology was first approved for ovarian cancer in November 2021 before receiving approval for lung cancer in December 2022.

Nearly 227,000 people will be diagnosed with lung cancer in 2025 in the U.S., according to the Lung Cancer Research Foundation. History shows more than half of patients who undergo curative surgery experience a recurrence because of undetected cancerous lesions left behind, but Cytalux can potentially help bring that number down.

Dr. J. Matthew Reinersman, a thoracic surgeon with the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, said Cytalux makes it possible to perform surgeries in a less invasive way. OU Health is the first health system in Oklahoma to utilize it.