Ionpath has announced that a peer-reviewed research study led by scientists at Stanford University, Washington University, Duke University and Arizona State University has been published in the journal Cell.
The study, which focused on investigating potential indicators in the progression of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) into invasive breast cancer (IBC), discovered a highly predictive, high-multiplex spatial proteomic signature (greater than 20 markers) that may pave the way for future development of new targeted therapies and prognostic tests.
Ductal carcinoma in situ is diagnosed based on the specific organisation of tumour, stromal, and myoepithelial cells. In this study, the research team deployed Ionpath’s MIBI spatial proteomics technology to resolve precise cell locations, compositions and functions using 37 proteins of interest. With this approach, they characterised 79 archival samples from normal breast, DCIS or IBC. Then they implemented machine learning tools to identify and map 16 different cell populations and their varied spatial parameters across the samples. Overall, they measured more than 400 features in each sample and incorporated these into a classifier to determine which ones could be clearly linked to disease progression patterns.
“This study is a powerful demonstration of how spatial proteomics enabled by Ionpath’s MIBI technology can illuminate high-definition details of the tumour microenvironment and pave the way for the development of new high-multiplex spatial signatures that can be used to develop new diagnostic tests and therapies that deliver on the promise of precision medicine,” said Sander Gubbens, CEO at Ionpath. “Ionpath is honoured to have played a role in this foundational study and congratulates the entire research team on their work to improve outcomes for women with breast cancer.”
The article was published in the 20 January 2022 issue of Cell (Volume 185, Issue 2) entitled ‘Transition to invasive breast cancer is associated with progressive changes in the structure and composition of tumor stroma’.
Click on the link below to read the article.