about one of the biggest myths in medicine,

醫學界最大的迷思之一

and that is the idea

這個迷思就是

that all we need are more medical breakthroughs

只要我們在醫學界有更多的突破

and then all of our problems will be solved.

一切問題就能迎刃而解

Our society loves to romanticize

世人喜歡把這種事想得浪漫

the idea of the single, solo inventor

某位發明家隻身奮鬥

who, working late in the lab one night,

某晚在實驗室工作到很晚

makes an earthshaking discovery,

有了驚為天人的發現

and voila, overnight everything's changed.

突然，一夕之間全都變得不一樣了

That's a very appealing picture,

這樣的畫面非常吸引人

however, it's just not true.

然而，實情並非如此

In fact, medicine today is a team sport.

實際上，現今的醫學是種團隊運動

And in many ways,

很多方面來說

it always has been.

一直都是如此

I'd like to share with you a story

我想和大家分享一則故事

about how I've experienced this very dramatically

這故事是我在工作上

in my own work.

親身經歷的戲劇化改變

I'm a surgeon,

我是名外科醫生

and we surgeons have always had

身為外科醫生

this special relationship with light.

我們和光線有種奇妙的關係

When I make an incision inside a patient's body, it's dark.

當我動刀切入病患的身體時，裡頭是暗的

We need to shine light to see what we're doing.

我們要打光才能知道我們正在進行什麼動作

And this is why, traditionally,

這就是為什麼傳統上

surgeries have always started so early in the morning --

手術都在一大早的時候進行

to take advantage of daylight hours.

以便利用白天的光線

And if you look at historical pictures

假如你看看歷史照片

of the early operating rooms,

早期的手術室

they have been on top of buildings.

都位在建築物的頂樓

For example, this is the oldest operating room in the Western world,

例如：這張是西方世界最早的手術室

in London,

位在倫敦

where the operating room

這間手術室

is actually on top of a church

位在教堂的頂樓

with a skylight coming in.

上頭有日光照進來

And then this is a picture

再來這張照片是

of one of the most famous hospitals in America.

美國最有名的醫院之一

This is Mass General in Boston.

這是波士頓的麻省總醫院

And do you know where the operating room is?

你知道手術室在哪嗎？

Here it is

在這裡

on the top of the building

醫院的頂樓

with plenty of windows to let light in.

上面開了很多窗戶引進光線

So nowadays in the operating room,

現今的手術室

we no longer need to use sunlight.

不再需要利用陽光

And because we no longer need to use sunlight,

因為我們不需要利用陽光

we have very specialized lights

我們有特製的燈光

that are made for the operating room.

專為手術室打造的燈

We have an opportunity

我們有機會

to bring in other kinds of lights --

引進其他種類的光線

lights that can allow us to see

這種光線可以讓我們看見

what we currently don't see.

目前我們看不到的地方

And this is what I think

這種光線就是

is the magic of fluorescence.

神奇的螢光

So let me back up a little bit.

我先把話題拉回以前

When we are in medical school,

當我們在醫學院的時候

we learn our anatomy from illustrations such as this

我們透過插圖學習解剖學，就像這張

where everything's color-coded.

各部位都用色彩區分

Nerves are yellow, arteries are red,

神經是黃的，動脈是紅的

veins are blue.

靜脈是藍的

That's so easy anybody could become a surgeon, right?

很簡單，每個人都可以當外科醫生，對吧？

However, when we have a real patient on the table,

然而，當我們在看手術台上的實體病人時

this is the same neck dissection --

這是相同的頸部解剖面

not so easy to tell the difference

不太易區分

between different structures.

不同組織的差異

We heard over the last couple days

過去幾天我們聽說

what an urgent problem

癌症至今仍是

cancer still is in our society,

我們所面臨的迫切問題

what a pressing need it is

我們有急迫的需求

for us to not have

不希望隨時會有人

one person die every minute.

因為癌症而死

Well if cancer can be caught early,

假如能夠早期發現癌症

enough such that someone can have their cancer taken out,

在最初時就透過手術

excised with surgery,

把腫瘤移除

I don't care if it has this gene or that gene,

我不管是有這個基因或那個基因

or if it has this protein or that protein,

或者有這種蛋白質或那種蛋白質

it's in the jar.

反正都丟到罐子了

It's done, it's out, you're cured of cancer.

手術完成，切除了，癌症治好了

This is how we excise cancers.

這是我們移除腫瘤手術的照片

We do our best, based upon our training

我們盡最大能力，依據過去的訓練

and the way the cancer looks and the way it feels

還有腫瘤的樣貌和感覺

and its relationship to other structures and all of our experience,

以及腫瘤與其他組織的關聯，還有過去的經驗

we say, you know what, the cancer's gone.

我們說，你知道嗎，腫瘤清除了

We've made a good job. We've taken it out.

很好，我們把腫瘤移除了

That's what the surgeon is saying in the operating room

外科醫生在手術室都會這樣說

when the patient's on the table.

當患者還在手術台上時

But then we actually don't know that it's all out.

可是我們其實不確定腫瘤是否都移除了

We actually have to take samples from the surgical bed,

我們必須從腫瘤床採取樣本

what's left behind in the patient,

以了解患者體內是否殘存腫瘤

and then send those bits to the pathology lab.

然後把樣本送到病理實驗室

In the meanwhile, the patient's on the operating room table.

這時，患者仍然躺在手術台上

The nurses, anesthesiologist, the surgeon,

護士、麻醉師、外科醫生

all the assistants are waiting around.

所有的助理都在等候

And we wait.

我們就這樣等著

The pathologist takes that sample,

病理師把樣本拿去

freezes it, cuts it, looks in the microscope one by one

冷凍、切開，一片片放在顯微鏡下觀察

and then calls back into the room.

然後回覆手術室

And that may be 20 minutes later per piece.

每件樣本大概要花20分鐘

So if you've sent three specimens,

所以假如你送三件樣本

it's an hour later.

要等上一小時

And very often they say,

通常他們會說

"You know what, points A and B are okay,

「你知道嗎，A點和B點都沒問題，

but point C, you still have some residual cancer there.

但是C點仍然殘留些許的腫瘤，

Please go cut that piece out."

請把殘留的腫瘤切除。」

So we go back and we do that again, and again.

所以我們就回去一次又一次再做手術

And this whole process:

這就是整個過程

"Okay you're done.

「好了，完成了，

We think the entire tumor is out."

我們認為腫瘤已經切除了。」

But very often several days later,

但通常幾天以後

the patient's gone home,

病患回家了

we get a phone call:

我們接到電話說：

"I'm sorry,

「抱歉，

once we looked at the final pathology,

我們看了最後的病理報告

once we looked at the final specimen,

我們看了最後的樣本

we actually found that there's a couple other spots

我們發現有些其他的點

where the margins are positive.

邊緣呈現陽性反應

There's still cancer in your patient."

患者的體內仍有腫瘤。」

So now you're faced with telling your patient, first of all,

所以首先要面對的是告訴患者

that they may need another surgery,

可能要再進行一次手術

or that they need additional therapy

或者額外的治療

such as radiation or chemotherapy.

像是放射線治療或化療

So wouldn't it be better

如果我們能夠知道

if we could really tell,

如果可以在手術時就知道

if the surgeon could really tell,

腫瘤是否仍然存在

whether or not there's still cancer on the surgical field?

這樣是不是更好？

I mean, in many ways, the way that we're doing it,

我的意思是，現階段我們進行手術時

we're still operating in the dark.

很多時候等於在黑暗中動刀

So in 2004, during my surgical residency,

2004年，當我在住院醫師期間

I had the great fortune

我很榮幸

to meet Dr. Roger Tsien,

遇見 Roger Chen 醫師

who went on to win the Nobel Prize for chemistry

後來他在2008年時

in 2008.

獲得諾貝爾化學獎

Roger and his team

Roger和他的團隊

were working on a way to detect cancer,

當時正在研究偵測腫瘤的方法

and they had a very clever molecule

他們後來研發出

that they had come up with.

一種非常神奇的分子

The molecule they had developed

他們研發出的分子

had three parts.

由三個部分構成

The main part of it is the blue part, polycation,

第一部分是藍色的聚陽離子

and it's basically very sticky

這東西很容易附著在

to every tissue in your body.

身體組織上

So imagine that you make a solution

想像一下你製做了一種溶液

full of this sticky material

裡頭都是這種高依附性物質

and inject it into the veins of someone who has cancer,

然後注射到癌症患者的靜脈

everything's going to get lit up.

接著全身各部位開始發亮

Nothing will be specific.

沒有什麼地方不會發亮

There's no specificity there.

看不出任何不同的地方

So they added two additional components.

所以他們添加了兩種成分

The first one is a polyanionic segment,

第一種是聚陰離子

which basically acts as a non-stick backing

具有反依附作用

like the back of a sticker.

就像貼紙下面那張不黏的底紙

So when those two are together, the molecule is neutral

當這兩種物質結合在一起時，分子變成中性

and nothing gets stuck down.

不會附著在組織上

And the two pieces are then linked

當這兩種物質結合在一起時

by something that can only be cut

必須使用特定的分子剪刀

if you have the right molecular scissors --

才能將兩者分開

for example, the kind of protease enzymes

像是腫瘤產生的

that tumors make.

蛋白酵素

So here in this situation,

在這種溶液裡

if you make a solution full of this three-part molecule

假如溶液裡含有這三種成分

along with the dye, which is shown in green,

同時含有綠色染劑

and you inject it into the vein

把這溶液注射到

of someone who has cancer,

癌症患者的靜脈裡

normal tissue can't cut it.

正常組織無法切斷分子鍵

The molecule passes through and gets excreted.

溶液的分子流經組織，然後代謝掉

However, in the presence of the tumor,

然而，當有腫瘤的時後

now there are molecular scissors

裡面就有分子剪刀

that can break this molecule apart

可以把分子分開

right there at the cleavable site.

從可以切開的地方切斷

And now, boom,

接著，蹦

the tumor labels itself

腫瘤發亮了

and it gets fluorescent.

並且發出螢光