International Journal of Nanomedicine (Mar 2021)
Diffusion Reflection Method for Early Detection of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Specifically Targeted by Circulating Gold-Nanorods Bio-Conjugated to Anti-Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor
Abstract
Shiran Sudri,1 Hamootal Duadi,2 Florin Altman,1 Irit Allon,3 Ariel Ashkenazy,2 Ruchira Chakraborty,2 Ilya Novikov,4 Dror Fixler,2,* Abraham Hirshberg1,* 1Department of Oral Pathology and Oral Medicine, The Maurice and Gabriela Goldschleger School of Dental Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel; 2Faculty of Engineering and the Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, 5290002, Israel; 3Institute of Pathology, Barzilai Medical Center, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheba, Israel; 4Gertner Institute for Epidemiology and Health Policy Research, Ramat Gan, Israel*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Abraham HirshbergDepartment of Oral Pathology and Oral Medicine, The Maurice and Gabriela Goldschleger School of Dental Medicine, Tel Aviv University, 4 Klachkin Street, Ramat-Aviv, Tel-Aviv, 6139001, IsraelTel +972 3-6409303Fax +972 3-6409250Email [email protected]: Translation of nanomedical developments into clinical application is receiving an increasing interest. However, its use for oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) diagnosis remains limited. We present an advanced nanophotonic method for oral cancer detection, based on diffusion reflection (DR) measurements of gold-nanorods bio-conjugated to anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (C-GNRs) specifically attached to OSCC cells.Objective: To investigate in a rat model of oral carcinogenesis the targeting potential of C-GNRs to OSCC by using the DR optical method.Materials and Methods: OSCC was induced by the carcinogen 4-nitroquinoline-N-oxide (4NQO). C-GNRs were introduced locally and systemically and DR measurements were recorded from the surface of the rat tongue following illumination with red laser beam. Rats were divided into experimental and control groups. The results were compared with the histologic diagnosis.Results: A total of 75 Wistar-derived rats were enrolled in the study. Local application did not reveal any statistical results. DR measurements following intravenous injection of C-GNRs revealed a significant increase in light absorption in rats with OSCC compare with rats without cancer (p< 0.02, sensitivity 100%, specificity 89%). In addition, absorption of light increased significantly in cases of severe dysplasia and cancer (high risk) compared to rats without cancer and rats with mild dysplasia (low risk) (86% sensitivity and 89% specificity, AUC=0.79).Conclusion: Combining nanotechnology and nanophotonics for in vivo diagnosis of OSCC serves as additional tier in the translation of advanced nanomedical developments into clinical applications. The presented method shows a promising potential of nanophotonics for oral cancer identification, and provides support for the use of C-GNRs as a selective drug delivery.Keywords: oral cancer, squamous cell carcinoma, gold nanoparticles, anti-EGFR, nanophotonic, cancer detection
