New imaging technology can detect the key cells involved in the formation of metastatic tumours, Scottish researchers say today.
Scientists at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, say the tool, a type of chemical probe, can also help to track how the tumours are progressing.
Writing in Angewandte Chemie, they describe how the probe lights up small groups of previously unseen metastasis-associated macrophages, which will enable them to understand how different types of immune cells influence tumour development, either negatively or positively.
It is hoped that further development could result in the tool being able to detect tiny changes inside the body’s tissues, making it easier to spot when metastases are developing.
Dr Takanori Kitamura, of the University of Edinburgh’s MRC Centre for Reproductive Health, said: “This technology allows us to see how a specific type of immune cell affects how tumours grow. This advance will be important in improving patient diagnoses.”
Dr Marc Vendrell, of the University of Edinburgh’s Centre for Inflammation Research, added: “This is an important advance in our abilities to study the role that immune cells play in tumours. We hope that this new technology will accelerate the design of better therapies to halt the development of metastasis.”
They believe doctors could use the technology to monitor how patients are responding to treatment, by directly tracking metastasis-associated macrophages that are found in tumours.
Angewandte Chemie 21 October 2019
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