A new technique could detect and map the progression of aggressive tumors

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.October 28, 2020

Using a new technique, a team of researchers from McGill University found tiny and previously undetectable “hot spots” of extremely high stiffness within aggressive and invasive breast cancers.

Their findings suggest, for the first time, that only tiny regions of a tumor need to stiffen for metastasis to occur. Although still in its infancy, the researchers believe their technique may prove useful in detecting and mapping the progression of aggressive tumors.

We are now able to see these characteristics because our approach allows us to take measurements within living, intact 3D tissues. When tissue samples are interrupted in any way, as normally required with standard techniques, the marks of these “hot spots” are eliminated. “

Chris Moraes, Canadian research president and lead author of the study, Department of Chemical Engineering, McGill University

“Smart” hydrogels provide information on cancer progression

The researchers built tiny hydrogel sensors that can expand on demand, much like inflating balloons the size of single cells, and placed them inside 3D cultures and mouse models of breast cancer. When activated, hydrogel expansion can be used to measure very local stiffness within the tumor.

This unusual technique, developed through a collaboration between McGill’s Department of Chemical Engineering and McGill’s Rosalind and Morris Goodman Cancer Research Center, allows researchers to perceive, from the perspective of a cancer cell, what is happening in their surrounding environment.

What the cells perceive guides their behavior

“Human cells are not static. They grab and pull the tissue around them, controlling how stiff or soft their surroundings are. What the cells feel around them typically determines their behavior: immune cells can activate, Stem cells can specialize and cancer cells can become dangerously aggressive, “says Moraes.

“Breast cancer cells usually perceive a fairly soft environment. However, we found that cancer cells within aggressive tumors experienced a much harsher environment than previously expected, as hard as really old gummy bears. buckets “.

The researchers believe their findings suggest new ways in which cellular mechanics, even in the early stages of breast cancer, could influence the progression of the disease.

“Developing methods to analyze mechanical profiles in 3D tissues can better predict patient risk and outcome,” says Stephanie Mok, first author of the paper and PhD student in the Department of Chemical Engineering. “Whether these ‘hot spots’ of stiffness are really causing the cancer to progress rather than simply being correlated with it remains an open but critically important question to resolve.”