Breakthrough device helps spot cancer tissue

WASHINGTON - One of the biggest worries for patients undergoing cancer surgery is whether surgeons will miss some of the diseased tissue.

That worry could be over with a new pencil-sized tool developed by scientists and engineers at the University of Texas at Austin, according to a study published on Wednesday.

The tool, dubbed the Mas-Spec Pen, allows surgeons removing a tumor to detect cancerous cells in tissues in seconds, allowing them to know immediately if they have found and removed all of the cancer.