Lasers and Lung Cancer — Lung cancer tumors contain a variety of cells in addition to cancer cells. Using a technique known as Laser Capture Microdissection, Dr. Simon Spivack and colleagues, including lead authors Drs. Juan Lin and Gabrielle Marquardt, isolated individual cancer and non-cancer cells from patients with lung tumors and compared their gene expression profiles. The researchers identified a nine-gene signatures that were able to differentiate cancer cells from non-cancer cells with 100 percent accuracy. Their findings could be used to make diagnoses more accurate, to detect lung cancer early or to identify potential targets for treatment. The researchers described their finding in the October 2014 issue of the American Journal of Pathology. Dr. Spivack is professor of medicine, of epidemiology & population health and of genetics. Dr. Lin is an associate in epidemiology & population health and Dr. Marquardt was a postdoctoral researcher in the Spivack lab.
Posted on: Monday, August 25, 2014