Fluorescence Liquid Biopsy for Cancer Detection Is Improved by Using Cationic Dendronized Hyperbranched Polymer

Area of Science:

• Biophysics
• Biomedical Engineering
• Analytical Chemistry

Background:

• Biophysical techniques offer novel diagnostic tools for serum characterization.
• Fluorescence spectroscopy has shown potential in distinguishing cancer patients from healthy individuals.
• Dendronized hyperbranched polymers (DHP) based on bis(hydroxymethyl)propionic acid (bis-MPA) have been developed for biomedical applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the utility of fluorescence liquid biopsy (FLB) in cancer diagnosis.
• To evaluate the impact of DHP-bis-MPA on the diagnostic performance of FLB.
• To assess the potential of FLB as a quick, simple, and minimally invasive cancer diagnostic method.

Main Methods:

• Analyzed 94 serum samples from cancer patients and healthy donors using fluorescence spectroscopy.
• Recorded fluorescence spectra in the presence and absence of DHP-bis-MPA.
• Calculated a fluorescence spectrum score (FSscore) to assess diagnostic model performance.

Main Results:

• FLB demonstrated potential for cancer diagnosis.
• Inclusion of DHP-bis-MPA improved classification performance for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and ovarian cancer.
• High statistical sensitivity and specificity (over 85%) were achieved for both pathologies when using DHP-bis-MPA.

Conclusions:

• FLB is a promising, minimally invasive technique for cancer diagnosis.
• DHP-bis-MPA enhances the diagnostic accuracy of FLB by interacting differentially with serum samples.
• These findings support further investigation for clinical application in oncology.