title: MALDI imaging on large-scale tissue microarrays identifies molecular features associated with tumour phenotype in oesophageal cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation mass spectrometry imaging (MALDI-MSI) and tissue microarray (TMA) technologies were jointly utilized to search for molecular features associated with clinicopathological parameters in oesophageal cancer.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Two TMAs from formalin-fixed tissue samples, including 300 adenocarcinomas and 177 squamous cell carcinomas with clinical follow-up data, were analysed. MALDI-MSI analysis revealed 72 distinct mass per charge (m/z) signals associated with tumour cells, 48 of which were found in squamous cell carcinomas only, and 12 of which were specific for adenocarcinomas. In adenocarcinomas, six signals were linked to early-stage (pT1-T2) tumours (two signals) and the presence (one signal) or absence (three signals) of lymph node metastasis. In squamous cell carcinomas, 24 signals were strongly linked to different phenotypic features, including tumour stage (four signals), histological grade (four signals), and lymph node metastasis (three signals).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The high number of m/z signals that were found to be significantly linked to one or more phenotypic features of oesophageal cancer highlights the power of MALDI-MSI in the analysis of high-density TMAs. The data also emphasise substantial biological differences between adenocarcinomas and squamous cell carcinomas.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Pathology, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Quaas
authors.forename: Ahmad Soliaman
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Bahar
authors.forename: Katharina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: von Loga
authors.forename: Ahmad Shoaib
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Seddiqi
authors.forename: Julius Magnus
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Singer
authors.forename: Maryam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Omidi
authors.forename: Olga
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Kraus
authors.forename: Marcel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kwiatkowski
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Trusch
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Minner
authors.forename: Eike
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Burandt
authors.forename: Phillip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Stahl
authors.forename: Waldemar
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wilczak
authors.forename: Marcus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wurlitzer
authors.forename: Ronald
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Simon
authors.forename: Guido
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sauter
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Marx
authors.forename: Hartmut
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Schlüter
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010641:Phenotype; D019032:Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization / Q000379:methods*; D046888:Tissue Array Analysis / Q000379:methods*
keywords: MALDI mass spectrometry imaging; oesophageal cancer; tissue microarray