Three-dimensional histological electrophoresis enables fast automatic distinguishment of cancer margins and lymph node metastases

Sci Adv. 2023 Jun 30;9(26):eadg2690. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adg2690. Epub 2023 Jun 30.

Abstract

Tissue diagnosis is important during surgical excision of solid tumors for margin evaluation. Conventional histopathologic methods rely heavily on image-based visual diagnosis by specialized pathologists, which can be time-consuming and subjective. We report a three-dimensional (3D) histological electrophoresis system for rapid labeling and separation of the proteins within tissue sections, providing a more precise assessment of tumor-positive margin in surgically resected tissues. The 3D histological electrophoresis system uses a tumor-seeking dye labeling strategy to visualize the distribution of tumor-specific proteins within sections and a tumor finder that automatically predicts the tumor contour. We successfully demonstrated the system's capability to predict the tumor contours from five murine xenograft models and distinguish the tumor-invaded region of sentinel lymph nodes. Specifically, we used the system to accurately assess tumor-positive margins from 14 patients with cancer. Our 3D histological electrophoresis system serves as an intraoperative tissue assessment technology for more accurate and automatic pathologic diagnosis.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Electrophoresis
  • Humans
  • Lymphatic Metastasis
  • Mice
  • Neoplasm Proteins*
  • Technology*

Substances

  • Neoplasm Proteins