Journal of Analytical & Bioanalytical Techniques
Open Access

Research Article

Is the Low-Resolution Mass Spectrometer Capable of Detecting Cancer at Early Stages?

Thais MG de Francisco¹, João C Gasparetto¹, Caroline P Uber¹, Luize ZB Carrenho¹, Noemi Nagata², Almeriane W Santos³, Letícia B Cerqueira¹, Francinete R Campos^1* and Roberto Pontarolo¹

¹Department of Pharmacy, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil

²Department of Chemistry, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil

³Medical Pathology Department, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil

*Corresponding Author:

Campos FR
Department of Pharmacy
Universidade Federal do Paraná
632 Lothário Meissner Avenue
80210-170, Curitiba–PR, Brazil
Tel: +55-41-33604076
Fax: +55-41-3360-4106
E-mail: francampos@ufpr.br

Received date: December 04, 2012; Accepted date: December 21, 2012; Published date: December 31, 2012

Citation: de Francisco TMG, Gasparetto JC, Uber CP, Carrenho LZB, Nagata N, et al. (2013) Is the Low-Resolution Mass Spectrometer Capable of Detecting Cancer at Early Stages? J Anal Bioanal Tech 4:158. doi: 10.4172/2155-9872.1000158

Copyright: © 2013 de Francisco TMG, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

It is known that cancer promotes changes in the metabolites found in biofluids and, therefore, the early detection of these metabolites allows for the best prognosis of the disease. Since ESI-MS fingerprinting has proved to be an excellent tool for ‘‘first pass’’ metabolome analysis of complex biological samples, we have presented, for the first time, the use of direct infusion electrospray ionization low-resolution mass spectrometry associated with chemometric analysis (ESI-DIMS-PCA) for the detection of early stage cancer in mice. Ehrlich tumors were induced in Balb-C and Swiss mice, and blood was collected 1, 2, 3, 5, 7 and 10 days after tumor induction. Data from the mass spectra were analyzed via principal component analysis (PCA). Sample classifications were obtained within 3 days of tumor induction, which reflects a precocious time for cancer detection. ESI-DIMS-PCA was also used to detect cancer in groups of Swiss mice inoculated with sarcoma 180. Sample classifications were obtained 3 days after tumor induction, which indicates ESI-DIMS-PCA can be used to detect distinct neoplasms. Loading plot analysis demonstrated that the ions differentiating between the experimental and control groups are lysophosphatidylcholines and phosphatidylcholines. Partial least-squares analysis demonstrated that ESI-DIMS-PCA is capable of determining unknown samples in different stages of cancer development. ESI-DIMS with chemometric analysis is a promising technique for diagnosing cancer in the early stages without the need for invasive procedures.

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