University of Pittsburgh

Van Andel Research Institute

Randall E Brand

Yang Liu

Brian Brummeler Haab

Shikhar Uttam Fnu

Hoa V Pham

Tingting Yue

Pin Wang

A method of diagnosing pancreatic cancer in a patient by detecting a level of one or more glycoforms of a Lewis antigen and a level of the one or more glycoforms of MUC5AC. The patient diagnosed with pancreatic cancer then may be treated for this disease. Also, a method for detecting a level of a glycan in a sample which includes using a capture reagent to immobilize the glycan on a substrate; exposing the immobilized glycan to a detection reagent; detecting the level of the immobilized glycan; and combining the biological sample with one or more pre-capture enzymes and/or exposing the immobilized glycan to one or more pre-detection enzymes.

Methods for detecting and for treating pancreatic cancer

Due to potential sampling errors (due to small tissue samples not necessarily directly from the developing tumor) and limited optical resolution (&#x2dc;1 micron), cancer may be missed or detected too late for optimal treatment, or conservative interpretation of indeterminate findings could lead to unnecessary surgery. The novel technology herein&#x2014;Spatial-domain Low-coherence Quantitative Phase Microscopy (SL-QPM)&#x2014;can detect structural alterations within cell nuclei with nanoscale sensitivity (0.9 nm) (or nuclear nano-morphology) for 'nano-pathological diagnosis' of cancer. SL-QPM uses original, unmodified cytology and histology specimens prepared with standard clinical protocols and stains. SL-QPM can easily integrate in existing clinical pathology laboratories. Results quantified the spatial distribution of optical path length or refractive index in individual nuclei with nanoscale sensitivity, which could be applied to studying nuclear nano-morphology as cancer progresses. The nuclear nano-morphology derived from SL-QPM offers significant diagnostic value in clinical care and subcellular mechanistic insights for basic and translational research.

Spatial-domain low-coherence quantitative phase microscopy

Systems, methods and other embodiments associated with spatial-domain Low-coherence Quantitative Phase Microscopy (SL-QPM) are described herein. SL-QPM can detect structural alterations within cell nuclei with nanoscale sensitivity (0.9 nm) (or nuclear nano-morphology) for 'nano-pathological diagnosis' of cancer. SL-QPM uses original, unmodified cytology and histology specimens prepared with standard clinical protocols and stains. SL-QPM can easily integrate in existing clinical pathology laboratories. Results quantified the spatial distribution of optical path length or refractive index in individual nuclei with nanoscale sensitivity, which could be applied to studying nuclear nano-morphology as cancer progresses. The nuclear nano-morphology derived from SL-QPM offers significant diagnostic value in clinical care and subcellular mechanistic insights for basic and translational research. Techniques that provide for depth selective investigation of nuclear and other cellular features are disclosed.

Methods and related kits for differentiating pancreatic cancer from a benign pancreatic disease. The method includes assaying a patient biological sample for a total level of CA 19-9 antigen and for a glycan level in specific mucin(s), and comparing the total level of CA 19-9 antigen and the glycan level in the specific mucin(s) to statistically validated thresholds, wherein a different level of total CA 19-9 antigen in the patient biological sample as compared to a statistically validated threshold and a different level of glycan level in the specific mucin(s) as compared to statistically validated thresholds indicate pancreatic cancer in the patient rather than a benign pancreatic disease.

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Sewickley, PA, United States of America

Randall E Brand