Reliable and sensitive identification of occult tumor cells using the improved rare event imaging system.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility of using rare event imaging system (REIS)-assisted analysis to detect occult tumor cells (OTCs) in peripheral blood (PB). The study also sought to determine whether REIS-assisted OTC detection presents a clinically viable alternative to manual microscopic detection to establish the true significance of OTC from solid epithelial tumors.


METHODS
We recently demonstrated proof of concept using a fluorescence-based automated microscope system, REIS, for OTC detection from the PB. For this study, the prototype of the system was adopted for high-throughput and high-content cellular analysis.


RESULTS
The performance of the improved REIS was examined using normal blood (n = 10), normal blood added to cancer cells (n = 20), and blood samples obtained from cancer patients (n = 80). Data from the screening of 80 clinical slides from breast and lung cancer patients, by manual microscopy and by the REIS, revealed that as many as 14 of 35 positive slides (40%) were missed by manual screening but positively identified by REIS. In addition, REIS-assisted scanning reliably and reproducibly quantified the total number of cells analyzed in the assay and categorized positive cells based on their marker expression profile.


CONCLUSIONS
REIS-assisted analysis provides excellent sensitivity and reproducibility for OTC detection. This approach may enable an improved method for screening of PB samples and for obtaining novel information about disease staging and about risk evaluation in cancer patients.
Kraeft
Stine-Kathrein
SK
Department of Cancer Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
Ladanyi
Andras
A
Galiger
Kevin
K
Herlitz
Anna
A
Sher
Andrew C
AC
Bergsrud
Danielle E
DE
Even
Gaelle
G
Brunelle
Stephanie
S
Harris
Lyndsay
L
Salgia
Ravi
R
Dahl
Tom
T
Kesterson
John
J
Chen
Lan Bo
LB
D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis*; D018288:Carcinoma, Small Cell / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002452:Cell Count; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007633:Keratins / Q000032:analysis; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence / Q000379:methods*; D009360:Neoplastic Cells, Circulating / Q000737:chemistry / Q000473:pathology; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
D007633:Keratins