The radioimmunoguided surgery (RIGS) system as a diagnostic tool.

Radioimmunoguided surgery (RIGS) was developed to improve on the intraoperative detection of malignancy. The RIGS system uses a hand-held gamma radiation detection probe to identify radioactive tissues targeted by a preadministered tumor-associated radiolabeled targeting antibody or peptide. Clinical experience with RIGS in colorectal cancer has been favorable; better intraoperative staging has provided the surgeon more information regarding the pattern of disease and individual patients. Pancreatic, breast, ovarian, and prostate cancer have also been studied in clinical trials using RIGS and early results are encouraging. In the future, marked improvements with the RIGS system will be realized with the development of better targeting agents.