癌症诊断的新技术
【摘要】美国研究人员最近研究出一种新的细胞造影技术，可帮助诊断和治疗癌症。这种技术称为“肿瘤光谱造影术”，能产生显示组织内不同蛋白质分布的数码电脑影像。【全文】New technique may improve diagnosis of cancerBy Suzanne RostlerNEW YORK, Apr 03 (Reuters Health) - A new technology that produces digital computer images of cells could improve the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, researchers report.The investigators used imaging mass spectrometry to detect cells producing high levels of a specific protein that helps tumors to grow, called thymosin beta-4. The discovery may be important when deciding exactly where to surgically remove tumors, since these proteins "are potentially the best targets for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes, " Dr. Richard Caprioli, one of the study authors, told Reuters Health in an interview.Mass spectrometry is a widely used laboratory test for determining the chemical makeup of tissue and substances such as blood. The technology helps scientists search for specific proteins that have been tagged with chemicals. Imaging mass spectrometry scans tissue and catalogues all of the proteins it detects without the addition of chemicals.This type of search can help scientists understand how proteins work inside of cells, and how they change as a result of disease.In their study, published in the April issue of Nature Medicine, the researchers modified a standard mass spectrometer to photograph slices of normal mouse brain and human brain tumors grown in mice. "Pictures" of tissue revealed that certain proteins were found only in the inside of the tumor and around the edges."The presumption is that molecules which are distinct for this invasive tumor region are related to the proliferation process and might serve as good diagnostic markers or molecular drug targets," Caprioli, from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, said in a prepared statement.He said that using imaging mass spectrometry to develop new drugs "would be a major advancement in the drug discovery process."SOURCE: Nature Medicine 2001;7:493-496., http://www.100md.com