The Barrow 5-ALA Intraoperative Confocal (BALANCE) Study

This study will look at how well 5-ALA, an amino acid compound, can identify cancer cells during surgery and improve tumor removal in patients with high- and low-grade gliomas. Select patients take an oral dose of either 5-ALA or ascorbic acid a few hours before surgery. During the procedure surgeons use a special microscope that sends out blue light onto the tumor tissue. When the light hits the tumor, the 5-ALA reflects the light and the tumor cells glow in the dark. This allows the surgeon to better pinpoint tumor margins.