title: Tumor invasion unit in gastric cancer revealed by QDs-based in situ molecular imaging and multispectral analysis.
abstract: In tumor tissues, cancer cells, tumor infiltrating macrophages and tumor neo-vessels in close spatial vicinity with one another form tumor invasion unit, which is a biologically important tumor microenvironment of metastasis to facilitate cancer invasion and metastasis. Establishing an in situ molecular imaging technology to simultaneously reveal these three components is essential for the in-depth investigation of tumor invasion unit. In this report, we have developed a computer-aided algorithm by quantum dots (QDs)-based multiplexed molecular imaging technique for such purpose. A series of studies on gastric cancer tumor tissues demonstrated that the tumor invasion unit was correlated with major unfavorable pathological features and worse clinical outcomes, which illustrated the significantly negative impacts and predictive power of tumor invasion unit on patient overall survival. This study confirmed the technical advantages of QDs-based in situ and simultaneous molecular imaging of key cancer molecules to gain deeper insights into the biology of cancer invasion.
authors: Department of Medical Imaging, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan 030001, PR China.
authors: Wen-Qing
authors: WQ
authors: Hu
authors: Departments of Oncology & Pathology, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Hubei Key Laboratory of Tumor Biological Behaviors & Hubei Cancer Clinical Study Center, Wuhan 430071, PR China.
authors: Min
authors: M
authors: Fang
authors: Department of General Surgery, Shanxi Dayi Hospital, Taiyuan 030001, PR China.
authors: Hao-Liang
authors: HL
authors: Zhao
authors: Department of Surgery, Heji Hospital Affiliated to Changzhi Medical College, Changzhi 046000, PR China.
authors: Shu-Guang
authors: SG
authors: Yan
authors: Departments of Oncology & Pathology, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Hubei Key Laboratory of Tumor Biological Behaviors & Hubei Cancer Clinical Study Center, Wuhan 430071, PR China.
authors: Jing-Ping
authors: JP
authors: Yuan
authors: Departments of Oncology & Pathology, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Hubei Key Laboratory of Tumor Biological Behaviors & Hubei Cancer Clinical Study Center, Wuhan 430071, PR China.
authors: Chun-Wei
authors: CW
authors: Peng
authors: Departments of Oncology & Pathology, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Hubei Key Laboratory of Tumor Biological Behaviors & Hubei Cancer Clinical Study Center, Wuhan 430071, PR China.
authors: Gui-Fang
authors: GF
authors: Yang
authors: Departments of Oncology & Pathology, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Hubei Key Laboratory of Tumor Biological Behaviors & Hubei Cancer Clinical Study Center, Wuhan 430071, PR China. Electronic address: liyansd2@163.com.
authors: Yan
authors: Y
authors: Li
authors: Department of Medical Imaging, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan 030001, PR China. Electronic address: cjr.jianding@vip.163.com.
authors: Jian-Ding
authors: JD
authors: Li
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D057054:Molecular Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D045663:Quantum Dots; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*
keywords: Gastric cancer; Molecular imaging; Multispectral analysis; Quantum dots; Tumor invasion unit; Tumor microenvironment of metastasis