A novel optical imaging technology is showing promise as a potential diagnostic tool for renal cell carcinoma.
Madison, WI-A novel optical imaging technology is showing promise as a potential diagnostic tool for renal cell carcinoma (RCC).
RELATED: Nonthermal technique promising for small renal tumors
Second-harmonic generation (SHG) images are obtained with multiphoton microscopy of biopsy tissue from renal tumors, and analyses of these “optical biomarkers” using new digital technology and software reveals extracellular matrix-based differences between benign and malignant tissue as well as between tumor grades, reported first author Sara L. Best, MD, at the 2014 World Congress of Endourology and SWL in Taipei, Taiwan.
Dr. Best“Benign and malignant renal tumors can be differentiated using standard histopathology evaluation, but those techniques lack accuracy for determining Fuhrman grade when assessing small tissue samples such as those obtained from a tumor biopsy. In contrast to Fuhrman grading that is largely based on nuclear features, SHG signals are collagen based and have been shown to have prognostic value for predicting survival in patients with other malignancies, including breast and ovarian cancer,” said Dr. Best, assistant professor of urology at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison.
“These initial findings from SHG imaging of renal tissue are encouraging and support further investigation to determine if this technique can provide useful information for predicting the aggressiveness of renal cell carcinoma.”
The SHG image analysis is performed using Curvelet transform-based software, which was developed by researchers at the University of Wisconsin’s Laboratory for Optical and Computational Instrumentation. The software automatically extracts collagen fibers in the image, quantifies how well the fibers are aligned with respect to each other, and quantifies the information, converting it to a numerical value known as the alignment coefficient.
Capture of SHG images from the renal tissue samples was done using five-micron sections cut from tissue microarrays that were constructed from 0.6-mm biopsy cores of benign renal tissue and grades 1 to 4 RCC.
NEXT: Several advantages as diagnostic tool
“It is exciting that SHG signal was generated from small tissue samples that are similar in diameter to those obtained in renal tumor biopsy. SHG imaging also has other features that make it attractive as a diagnostic tool. It does not destroy the sample, and it is a flexible platform that can be used to study fresh tissue, stained tissue fixed on pathology slides, and even living cells in culture,” said Dr. Best.
Findings from the different specimens evaluated in the study showed significantly greater linear alignment of the collagen fibers comparing the high-grade RCC samples to both low-grade RCC and benign tissue.
“This finding is consistent with what has been reported using SHG to analyze other types of cancer, where aligned collagen fibers have been found to serve as a ‘scaffold’ for cancer cell migration,” Dr. Best said.
Corroboration that the optical biomarkers generated by SHG imaging are collagen based was the fact that standard histologic staining showed absence of collagen in tissue specimens generating very low signal.
Currently, the authors are planning studies to determine whether the SHG biomarkers correlate to clinical outcomes in patients with RCC.
“Our hope is to establish clinical relevancy so that the biomarker information could be used together with other prognostic information to improve individualized management plans for patients with renal tumors,” Dr. Best said.
Robotic partial nephrectomy: Benefits outweigh costs
USC urologists take robot to next level in thrombectomy - VIDEO
Immunotherapy will define new era of GU cancer care
Subscribe to Urology Times to get monthly news from the leading news source for urologists.
Mitochondrial metabolism may promote kidney cancer metastasis, new data show
August 14th 2024“The challenge now is to understand how these key aspects of mitochondrial metabolism become activated, why they stimulate metastasis, and whether we can safely block them,” says Ralph J. DeBerardinis, MD, PhD.
Dr. Richard Matulewicz discusses smoking cessation counseling and treatment among urologists
March 31st 2021“Because so many disease processes that we deal with are related to tobacco use and smoking specifically… I think this is absolutely our domain,” says Richard S. Matulewicz, MD, of tobacco cessation counseling and treatment.
Adding nivolumab to low-dose tivozanib does not improve PFS in renal cell carcinoma
July 19th 2024"While the addition of an ICI to low dose FOTIVDA did not improve PFS outcomes after prior ICI, we consider the control arm data an important, evidence-based and clinically meaningful contribution to the oncology community treating relapsed or refractory advanced RCC following front-line ICI combinations," says Michael P. Bailey.