Identification of pelvic lymph nodes with chlorophyllin after injection into the uterine cervix: An experimental and clinical study.
Wang H., Tan Y., Wang X., Xie J. Lymphology 2000;34:69-76
Background: Cancer is more severe when it spreads to areas beyond the site of the original tumor (a process called metastasis). When cancer cells spread, they often do so through the lymphatic system. When surgeons remove cancerous tumors, they remove additional tissue to be sure they removed all of the cancer. They also remove some lymph nodes around the tumor that may contain cancerous cells. Identifying these lymph nodes during surgery can be challenging, because of the size and coloring.
Clinical Trial: Surgeons conducted a two-phase study, the first phase was in dogs and the second was in women with gynecological cancers. The scientists found that when sodium copper chlorophyllin was injected into the uterus of dogs, it collected in lymph nodes around the uterus for up to 4 days after injection. The same chlorophyllin was cleared from the blood within 18 hrs. In phase two of the study, surgeons injected sodium copper chlorophyllin into 23 women with cervical or endometrial cancer. The dye was taken up by the lymph nodes and, when the women had radical hysterectomy for their cancers, the surgeons were able to quickly locate the lymph nodes and remove them. In fact, women treated with sodium copper chlorophyllin had significantly shorter time in surgery than women without the injection. No adverse events were found from the chlorophyllin in dogs or in humans.
Conclusion: Sodium copper chlorophyllin injection into the uterus helps surgeons more rapidly and effectively locate lymph nodes for dissection during hysterectomy. This significantly shortened operating times, which reduces risk for patients.
Dr. Chris Reynolds comments:
Given the potent hemostatic effect of Chlorophyllin, which contains a cereal grass extract, operating time may also be shortened because of reduced capillary bleeding at the operation site. One frequently sees this when suturing skin wounds. Because wheatgrass effectively reduces or stops small vessel bleeding, the need for adrenaline, commonly used as a vasoconstrictor, is significantly reduced.