Monitoring Radiotherapeutic Response in Prostate Cancer Patients Using High Throughput FTIR Spectroscopy of Liquid Biopsies.

Radiation therapy (RT) is used to treat approximately 50% of all cancer patients. However, RT causes a wide range of adverse late effects that can affect a patient's quality of life. There are currently no predictive assays in clinical use to identify patients at risk of normal tissue radiation toxicity. This study aimed to investigate the potential of Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy for monitoring radiotherapeutic response. Blood plasma was acquired from 53 prostate cancer patients at five different time points: prior to treatment, after hormone treatment, at the end of radiotherapy, two months post radiotherapy and eight months post radiotherapy. FTIR spectra were recorded from plasma samples at all time points and the data was analysed using MATLAB software. Discrimination was observed between spectra recorded at baseline versus follow up time points, as well as between spectra from patients showing minimal and severe acute and late toxicity using principal component analysis. A partial least squares discriminant analysis model achieved sensitivity and specificity rates ranging from 80% to 99%. This technology may have potential to monitor radiotherapeutic response in prostate cancer patients using non-invasive blood plasma samples and could lead to individualised patient radiotherapy.

Cancers. 2019 Jul 02*** epublish ***

Dinesh K R Medipally, Thi Nguyet Que Nguyen, Jane Bryant, Valérie Untereiner, Ganesh D Sockalingum, Daniel Cullen, Emma Noone, Shirley Bradshaw, Marie Finn, Mary Dunne, Aoife M Shannon, John Armstrong, Fiona M Lyng, Aidan D Meade

Radiation and Environmental Science Centre, Focas Research Institute, Technological University Dublin, D08 NF82 Dublin, Ireland., BioSpecT EA 7506, Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne, UFR Pharmacie, 51097 Reims, France., Clinical Trials Unit, St Luke's Radiation Oncology Network, St Luke's Hospital, D06 HH36 Dublin, Ireland., Cancer Trials Ireland, D11 KXN4 Dublin, Ireland., Radiation and Environmental Science Centre, Focas Research Institute, Technological University Dublin, D08 NF82 Dublin, Ireland. ., Radiation and Environmental Science Centre, Focas Research Institute, Technological University Dublin, D08 NF82 Dublin, Ireland. .