10-second video can predict blood cancer recurrence

In a typical immune response, white blood cells interact with the lining of blood vessels, roll along the lining of the blood vessel like a bowling ball, attach to the lining of the blood vessel, and travel through the blood vessel into the site of inflammation

In the video, transplant patients with higher levels of white blood cell adhesion and greater rolling along the vessel wall were more than three times more likely to have their cancer recur or die than those with normal levels of adhesion and rolling

This surprising finding is more predictive than established models of blood cancer recurrence and death

In a previous study involving non-invasive microscopy and graft-versus-host disease, researchers stumbled upon a link between higher white blood cell activity and cancer recurrence

"When we were able to turn our attention to this activity and measure it carefully in this new study, we found that the connection was really striking," said Dr.

According to their report, the clinical value of using video microscopy to non-invasively observe leukocyte activity in a patient's blood vessels has not been explored until now

Tkaczyk said: "Our study suggests a new application prospect, so-called diagnostic optical biopsies, by bringing a special confocal microscope to the bedside of stem cell and bone marrow transplant patients to perform skin tests on their skin.

Unlike autologous transplants, where the patient is their own donor, allogeneic transplants use stem cells or bone marrow from a sibling or other donor that matches the patient as closely as possible

In 56 blood cancer patients who underwent allograft transplantation, the team used confocal video microscopy to record white blood cell activity in skin microvessels 34 to 58 days after transplantation

The researchers followed the participants through electronic health records for a median of 15 months, with 13 relapses and 14 deaths

A&R performed far better than established models on a predictive model of cancer recurrence or death after bone marrow transplantation (called the refined disease risk index), so when the two models were combined, A&R accounted for the majority of the prognostic information for recurrence and death.

Journal Reference :

1. Inga Saknite, James R.