title: Molecular characterization of scant lung tumor cells using iron-oxide nanoparticles and micro-nuclear magnetic resonance.
abstract: Advances in nanotechnology and microfluidics are enabling the analysis of small amounts of human cells. We tested whether recently developed micro-nuclear magnetic resonance (μNMR) technology could be leveraged for diagnosing pulmonary malignancy using fine needle aspirate (FNA) of primary lesions and/or peripheral blood samples. We enrolled a cohort of 35 patients referred for CT biopsy of primary pulmonary nodules, liver or adrenal masses and concurrently obtained FNA and peripheral blood samples. FNA sampling yielded sufficient material for μNMR analysis in 91% of cases and had a sensitivity and specificity of 91.6% and 100% respectively. Interestingly, among blood samples with positive circulating tumor cells (CTC), μNMR analysis of each patient's peripheral blood led to similar diagnosis (malignant vs benign) and differential diagnosis (lung malignancy subtype) in 100% and 90% (18/20) of samples, respectively. μNMR appears to be a valuable, non-invasive adjunct in the diagnosis of lung cancer.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  The authors of this study established that recently developed micro-nuclear magnetic resonance (μNMR) technology can be leveraged for diagnosing pulmonary malignancy using fine needle aspirate (FNA) of primary lesions and/or peripheral blood samples derived from 35 patients, suggesting practical clinical applicability of this technique.
authors.affiliation: Center for Systems Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Arezou A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Ghazani
authors.affiliation: Center for Systems Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA; Department of Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Fruit St, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Melina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pectasides
authors.affiliation: Department of Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Fruit St, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Amita
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.affiliation: Center for Systems Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA; Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Cesar M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Castro
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Fruit St, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Mari
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mino-Kenudson
authors.affiliation: Center for Systems Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Hakho
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Fruit St, Boston, MA. Electronic address: JSHEPARD@PARTNERS.ORG.
authors.forename: Jo-Anne O
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Shepard
authors.affiliation: Center for Systems Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA; Department of Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Fruit St, Boston, MA; Department of Systems Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA; Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, Boston, MA. Electronic address: rweissleder@mgh.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Ralph
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Weissleder
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D057930:Click Chemistry; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005290:Ferric Compounds; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000473:pathology*; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology*; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy / Q000295:instrumentation*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D053758:Nanoparticles; D009360:Neoplastic Cells, Circulating / Q000473:pathology*; D019095:Point-of-Care Systems; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D005290:Ferric Compounds; C000499:ferric oxide
keywords: Bioorthogonal click chemistry; Circulating tumor cell; Iron-oxide nanoparticles; Point of care diagnosis; μNMR