P059 Distinguishing prostate cancer grades using X-ray and spectroscopic analysis of calcifications

Prostate cancer (PCa) accounts for 22 % of all new cancer diagnoses in European men, however, clinical diagnostic tests often result in conflicting diagnoses leading to over- and undertreatment of mid-grade cases. Therefore, there is a need to identify biomarkers for PCa prognostics. Rising interest in the tissue microenvironment of breast cancer has identified prognostic markers in calcifications and their surrounding tissue, therefore this is proposed as a potential marker in PCa. Unlike breast cancer, prostate calcification clinical significance is much debated, therefore probing the morphological, chemical and crystallographic composition of calcifications and tissue may reveal previously unexplored clinical value in these markers. 100 FFPE prostate megablocks were scanned using a MiLabs U-CT to locate and analyse calcification morphologies. Blocks were sectioned for Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and mounted on stainless steel and ultralene substrates respectively. XRD was carried out at Diamond Light Source (i18 beamline) at 12 keV, while Raman analysis was carried out on a Thermofisher DXR3 Raman Imaging Microscope, using a 10 mW, 780 nm laser. Calcifications were identified in 92% of tissue blocks, ranging from 0.6 - 246 calcifications per 1 cm3 of tissue, with a significantly greater number of calcifications in high grade tissue compared to control tissue (p = 0.028). Using Raman and XRD analysis, multiple calcium phases were identified, including calcium phosphate (hydroxyapatite), within the prostate calcifications. Mapping these calcifications revealed crystallographic and spectroscopic heterogeneity of the calcium phases, similar to breast calcifications. The identification of calcifications in multiple zones, particularly the peripheral zone, where the majority of cancer cases are found, confirms the importance of calcification within PCa, and in separating prostates of varying clinical pathologies. Crystallographic and spectroscopic similarities with calcifications in breast cancer studies also highlights the potential of prostatic calcification features as novel biomarkers for prostate prognostics (Figure Presented).

Citation

Gosling S., Arnold E., Cool P., Geraki K., Kitchen M., Lyburn I.D., Greenwood C. (2023). Distinguishing prostate cancer grades using X-ray and spectroscopic analysis of calcifications. JBMR Plus, 7(Supplement 3), no pagination. https://doi.org/10.1002/jbm4.10738

DOI

10.1002/jbm4.10738

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14709/1140

Usage rights

CC BY 4.0

License

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/