In vivo spectral fluorescence imaging of submillimeter peritoneal cancer implants using a lectin-targeted optical agent.
Intraperitoneal metastases commonly recur after surgery because small tumor foci escape detection within the complex anatomy of the peritoneal cavity and mesentery. Accurate localization of peritoneal implants during surgery could improve the resection of ovarian cancer and other malignancies, but few practical techniques to enhance detectability are currently available. Here, we describe a targeted molecular imaging method that employs fluorescently labeled avidin to detect submillimeter peritoneal implants of ovarian cancer in mice. After binding to surface lectins on the tumor, fluorescein-conjugated avidin enabled the spectral fluorescence imaging of disseminated peritoneal implants. High spatial resolution and high tumor-to-background ratio allowed the visualization of implants as small as 0.3 mm (with 100% sensitivity and specificity; n = 150) and the identification of even smaller lesions ex vivo. These results suggest that targeted molecular imaging with a fluorescence-labeled lectin-ligand system is a promising technique for the detection of disseminated submillimeter foci of cancer.
Hama
Yukihiro
Y
Molecular Imaging Program, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892-1088, USA.
Urano
Yasuteru
Y
Koyama
Yoshinori
Y
Kamiya
Mako
M
Bernardo
Marcelino
M
Paik
Ronald S
RS
Krishna
Murali C
MC
Choyke
Peter L
PL
Kobayashi
Hisataka
H
D000818:Animals; D001360:Avidin / Q000737:chemistry; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000494:pharmacology; D006801:Humans; D037102:Lectins / Q000737:chemistry*; D051379:Mice; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence / Q000379:methods*; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D009368:Neoplasm Transplantation; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology*; D010534:Peritoneal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence / Q000379:methods*
D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D037102:Lectins; D001360:Avidin