Session Speaker

Developing Nanocytology as a Novel Biomarker for Personalized Cancer Management
Jianyu Rao

Cancer is deadly because cancer cells invade and metastasize. Studies from us and others have showed that cell nanomechanical properties, e.g., cell elasticity and softness, may be a new class of quantitative markers that are predictive of tumor cell behavior. The aggressive tumor cells may be softer and less stiff and thereby have more flexibility and mobility than benign cells. The cell softness/stiffness is regulated by signal pathways of cytoskeletal remodeling. Using Atomic Force Microscopy, we recently measured the metastatic tumor cells obtained from remnants of patient’s body cavity fluid samples, and found a marked difference in softness between malignant cells and benign mesothelial cells present in the same sample, and common modulus of cell softness in different cancer types metastatic to body cavity (Nature Nanotechnology, Dec., 2007). We further demonstrated that chemopreventive and therapeutic agents including green tea extract and other commonly used chemotherapeutic drugs have profound effect on cancer cell mechanics. Works on primary tumors collected by fine needle aspiration and other cytological samples for example urine is now undertaking. Together, nanomechanical analysis can be performed on clinical cytological specimens, and Youngs modular E may be a quantitative functional biomarker that can be used for personalized cancer management. Combining cytomorphological analysis with molecular expression profiling as well as functional cancer cell mechanical measurements may bring the morphologically based cytology into the age of FUNCTIONAL nanocytology.