TY - JOUR
T1 - Label-free high-throughput photoacoustic tomography of suspected circulating melanoma tumor cells in patients in vivo
AU - Hai, Pengfei
AU - Qu, Yuan
AU - Li, Yang
AU - Zhu, Liren
AU - Shmuylovich, Leonid
AU - Cornelius, Lynn A.
AU - Wang, Lihong V.
PY - 2020/3/1
Y1 - 2020/3/1
N2 - SIGNIFICANCE: Detection and characterization of circulating tumor cells (CTCs), a key determinant of metastasis, are critical for determining risk of disease progression, understanding metastatic pathways, and facilitating early clinical intervention. AIM: We aim to demonstrate label-free imaging of suspected melanoma CTCs. APPROACH: We use a linear-array-based photoacoustic tomography system (LA-PAT) to detect melanoma CTCs, quantify their contrast-to-noise ratios (CNRs), and measure their flow velocities in most of the superficial veins in humans. RESULTS: With LA-PAT, we successfully imaged suspected melanoma CTCs in patients in vivo, with a CNR >9. CTCs were detected in 3 of 16 patients with stage III or IV melanoma. Among the three CTC-positive patients, two had disease progression; among the 13 CTC-negative patients, 4 showed disease progression. CONCLUSIONS: We suggest that LA-PAT can detect suspected melanoma CTCs in patients in vivo and has potential clinical applications for disease monitoring in melanoma.
AB - SIGNIFICANCE: Detection and characterization of circulating tumor cells (CTCs), a key determinant of metastasis, are critical for determining risk of disease progression, understanding metastatic pathways, and facilitating early clinical intervention. AIM: We aim to demonstrate label-free imaging of suspected melanoma CTCs. APPROACH: We use a linear-array-based photoacoustic tomography system (LA-PAT) to detect melanoma CTCs, quantify their contrast-to-noise ratios (CNRs), and measure their flow velocities in most of the superficial veins in humans. RESULTS: With LA-PAT, we successfully imaged suspected melanoma CTCs in patients in vivo, with a CNR >9. CTCs were detected in 3 of 16 patients with stage III or IV melanoma. Among the three CTC-positive patients, two had disease progression; among the 13 CTC-negative patients, 4 showed disease progression. CONCLUSIONS: We suggest that LA-PAT can detect suspected melanoma CTCs in patients in vivo and has potential clinical applications for disease monitoring in melanoma.
KW - circulating tumor cell
KW - melanoma
KW - photoacoustic imaging
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85082093648&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1117/1.JBO.25.3.036002
DO - 10.1117/1.JBO.25.3.036002
M3 - Article
C2 - 32170857
AN - SCOPUS:85082093648
SN - 1083-3668
VL - 25
SP - 1
EP - 17
JO - Journal of biomedical optics
JF - Journal of biomedical optics
IS - 3
ER -