The surgical operation is not about removing the patient’s cancer, which is much too far advanced at this stage, but taking a piece – from a metastasis or organ – that can be used to develop a personalised treatment. Explanations from Prof. Nicolas Demartines, head of the Visceral Surgery Department, who operates, with his team, on the patients we are tracking here as part of an in-depth study.
minutes required for operating on a patient suffering from a metastatic melanoma
hours may be needed for other tumours, depending on their location
minutes maximum between the surgical operation and the arrival of the tissue sample in the laboratory
cm3 minimum to be able to create a cell culture
Any clinical trial generally consists of four successive phases. In the clinical trial that we focus on here – of which the principal investigator is Prof. George Coukos, head of the Oncology Department of CHUV-UNIL –, phase 1 is currently underway. This phase aims to assess patients’ tolerance of the treatment. The results of the trial will only be published following the research protocol. Media should address any requests relating to this trial to the CHUV Communication Department.