Development of a high accuracy detection method for cancer micro-metastasis in lymph nodes

2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16H05168
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Experimental pathology
• Research Institution: Tohoku University
• Principal Investigator: Gonda Kohsuke 東北大学, 医学系研究科, 教授 (80375435)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 亀井 尚 東北大学, 医学系研究科, 教授 (10436115) ; 梅田 みか (渡辺みか) 東北大学, 大学病院, 准教授 (20292344) ; 大内 憲明 東北大学, 医学系研究科, 客員教授 (90203710)
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2019-03-31
• Keywords: がん / リンパ節 / 転移 / 蛍光 / Ｘ線 / ナノ粒子

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In cancer, the sentinel lymph node (SLN) is defined as a first node which receives lymph flow from cancer site. Therefore SLNs become the first location of cancer cells in lymph node metastasis. To achieve early diagnosis of cancer metastasis, it is important to detect location of true SLNs and evaluate accurate histological location of cancer cells in SLN with high accuracy. To develop new SLN diagnostic method, we here prepared multimodal nanoparticles with X-ray absorption and fluorescence. These nanoparticles enabled us to simultaneously-visualize an identical SLN in tumor-bearing mice with X-ray Computed Tomography and fluorescent imaging. Moreover, by estimating nanoparticles distribution in SLN utilizing the measurement of nanoparticles number with both imaging, we succeeded in precisely identifying the inflow of afferent lymph vessels into the sentinel lymph node, where lymph node metastasis begins. These results suggest that this method became better SLN diagnosis.

Free Research Field

医工学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

がん患部からのリンパ液が最初に流れ着くリンパ節(センチネルリンパ節)に注目し、リンパ節内のがん細胞の有無を高確度で調べることは、がん転移早期診断や根治にとって極めて重要である。本研究では、がんが転移した真のセンチネルリンパ節を蛍光とX線を使って正確に同定するための基盤技術の開発を行った。またリンパ節内に微小転移したがんを逃さず検出する方法の基盤技術開発にも成功した。