2022 World Conference on Lung Cancer (ePosters)-EP16.02-015. Phenotyping Malignant Pleural Effusions with Mass Cytometry: Evidence of EMT and MET States in Late-Stage NSCLC

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This study aimed to phenotypically characterize malignant pleural effusions (MPEs) in late-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients using mass cytometry. MPEs are associated with poor prognosis and can be used as a liquid biopsy for phenotyping malignant cells and guiding immunotherapy. The researchers used a 2D epithelial-mesenchymal transition-mesenchymal-epithelial transition (EMT-MET) reference map to assess the clinical relevance of EMT and MET states in patient specimens.<br /><br />The researchers obtained fresh PEs from 8 late-stage NSCLC patients and performed single-cell analysis to study the cellular profile of the MPEs. They focused on characterizing the EMT-MET phenotypes in CK epithelial cells. Using the PHENOSTAMP tool, the researchers were able to evaluate the EMT status of the NSCLC clinical specimens at the single-cell proteomic level.<br /><br />The results showed that CK cells were detected in 5 out of 7 MPE specimens reported positive for malignant cells, while they were not detected in the 2 specimens reported negative for malignant cells. The presence of CK cells in PEs was highly correlated with the presence of CD33 myeloid cells. Analysis of CK cells using PHENOSTAMP revealed the presence of pEMT and MET phenotypic features. MET-enriched CK cells were correlated with therapy and the presence of distant metastasis.<br /><br />Longitudinal analysis of one patient undergoing combination therapy showed changes in immune cell composition and phenotypic changes of CK cells over a 2-month period. The increase of mesenchymal and stem-like regions, as well as an increase in CD44hiCD24lo stem-like cells and ECadherinVimentin- epithelial cells, was observed in the second PE specimen.<br /><br />Overall, this study highlights the potential of using mass cytometry to study the phenotypic characteristics of MPEs in late-stage NSCLC patients. The findings suggest that assessing EMT and MET states in MPEs could provide valuable information for evaluating disease progression and response to treatment in these patients.

Asset Subtitle

Loukia Georgiou Karacosta

Meta Tag

Speaker Loukia Georgiou Karacosta

Topic Tumour Biology and Biomarkers - Minimally Invasive Biomarkers

Keywords

malignant pleural effusions

late-stage non-small cell lung cancer

mass cytometry

liquid biopsy

immunotherapy

epithelial-mesenchymal transition

mesenchymal-epithelial transition

EMT-MET reference map

single-cell analysis

PHENOSTAMP tool