Dr. Sunil Singhal
Assistant Professor
Department of Surgery at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine
Abstract：
Surgery is the most effective therapy for solid tumors. In fact, in the United States, 800,000 people undergo a surgical procedure each year to remove a solid tumor. The most important predictor of patient outcome following cancer surgery is a complete resection of the entire tumor and accurate staging of the disease burden. Unfortunately, in practice, surgeons leave behind residual tumor cells up to 40% of cases. Over the last 10 years, the emergence of targeted nanoprobes and techniques in molecular imaging have opened the opportunity for improvements in cancer surgery. We have been studying folate targeted fluorescent probes and nearinfrared contrast dyes to identify subcentimeter nodules and metastatic cells in lymph nodes at the time of surgery. Using innovative two dimensional planar imaging devices in concert with spectroscopy, we have developed a platform for molecular imaging during surgery. We currently have the largest single institution experience with this technology in the United States. Over the last 7 years, our group has enrolled over 100 patients in 7 clinical trials for intraoperative imaging for lung, renal, breast, ovarian and breast cancer. Intraoperative molecular imaging has allowed us to identify satellite tumor nodules and positive margins that would have otherwise have been missed. In this presentation, we will summarize our experience with intraoperative cancer imaging and the ramifications to the field of Surgical Oncology.
Biography：
Dr. Singhal completed his undergraduate education at Dartmouth College (1994) and medical school at University of Pennsylvania (1998). He pursued a General Surgery residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital (2005) and a Cardiothoracic Surgery residency at the University of Pennsylvania (2007). He became Assistant Professor at the University of Pennsylvania in 2008.
Dr. Singhal specializes in thoracic oncology, adult chest wall deformities and hyperhidrosis. His surgical expertise includes complex pulmonary procedures, minimally invasive and robotic resections. He has been on multiple national committees and societies. He is listed on Who’s Who in Medicine and has been awarded the Clinical Scholar Award from the Society of University Surgeons and the Clinical Investigator Award from the Society of Surgical Oncology. He has trained several Thoracic fellows who currently have faculty positions around the country.
Dr. Singhal has a research focus on preventing recurrences after cancer surgery. To that end, his laboratory studies molecular imaging to identify sources of local recurrences and tumor immunology to modulate suppressive immune populations. His findings have translated to three clinical trials in lung, renal and ovarian cancer, and he has over 100 publications.