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Fourier Transform Infrared microspectroscopy identifies single cancer cells in blood. A feasibility study towards liquid biopsy

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posted on 2023-12-05, 11:54 authored by Lewis M Dowling, Paul RoachPaul Roach, Eirik A Magnussen, Achim Kohler, Srinivas Pillai, Daniel G van Pittius, Ibraheem Yousef, Josep Sulé-Suso
The management of cancer patients has markedly improved with the advent of personalised medicine where treatments are given based on tumour antigen expression amongst other. Within this remit, liquid biopsies will no doubt improve this personalised cancer management. Identifying circulating tumour cells in blood allows a better assessment for tumour screening, staging, response to treatment and follow up. However, methods to identify/capture these circulating tumour cells using cancer cells’ antigen expression or their physical properties are not robust enough. Thus, a methodology that can identify these circulating tumour cells in blood regardless of the type of tumour is highly needed. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) microspectroscopy, which can separate cells based on their biochemical composition, could be such technique. In this feasibility study, we studied lung cancer cells (squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma) mixed with peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). The data obtained shows, for the first time, that FTIR microspectroscopy together with Random Forest classifier is able to identify a single lung cancer cell in blood. This separation was easier when the region of the IR spectra containing lipids and the amide A (2700 to 3500 cm-1) was used. Furthermore, this work was carried out using glass coverslips as substrates that are widely used in pathology departments. This allows further histopathological cell analysis (staining, immunohistochemistry, …) after FTIR spectra are obtained. Hence, although further work is needed using blood samples from patients with cancer, FTIR microspectroscopy could become another tool to be used in liquid biopsies for the identification of circulating tumour cells, and in the personalised management of cancer.

Funding

Alba Synchrotron Light Source, Barcelona, Catalonia

History

School

  • Science

Department

  • Chemistry

Published in

PLoS ONE

Volume

18

Issue

8

Publisher

Public Library of Science (PLoS)

Version

  • VoR (Version of Record)

Rights holder

© Dowling et al.

Publisher statement

This is an Open Access Article. It is published by Public Library of Science (PLoS) under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence (CC BY). Full details of this licence are available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Acceptance date

2023-07-25

Publication date

2023-08-24

Copyright date

2023

eISSN

1932-6203

Language

  • en

Depositor

Deposit date: 4 December 2023

Article number

e0289824

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