Tohoku J. Exp. Med., 2008, 216(1)

Early Diagnosis of Cancer by Detecting the Chemiluminescence of Hematoporphyrins in Peripheral Blood Lymphocytes

MASAHIRO KOHNO,¹ MOTOHIRO TAKEDA,² YOSHIMI NIWANO,¹ RUMIKO SAITO,¹ NATSUMI EMOTO,¹ MIKA TADA,¹ TAKEMICHI KANAZAWA,³ NORIAKI OHUCHI² and RIE YAMADA⁴

¹New Industry Creation Hatchery Center, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
²Division of Surgical Oncology, Graduate School of Medicine, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
³Medical Corporation Murakami Hospital, Aomori, Japan
⁴Tohoku Electronic Industrial Co., Ltd., Sendai, Japan

Early detection and optimal treatment are the most effective means to improve cancer mortality. Mass screening for cancer has yielded a marked reduction of cancer mortality in the United States. Simple and effective methods are expected for screening of malignancy. Hematoporphyrin derivatives (HPDs) are known to accumulate in cancer cells; thus, HPD has been used for local diagnosis and photodynamic therapy of cancer. The lymphocytes of cancer patients also demonstrate the active uptake of HPD and this phenomenon has been applied for the diagnosis of cancer. In the present study, we have developed a novel method for measurement of the chemiluminescence of HPD in peripheral blood lymphocytes. HPD is composed of hematoporphyrin and its oligomers. Seven cancer patients and seven controls were recruited for this study. The primary cancers included two prostate cancers (one without metastasis and the other with lung metastasis), a renal cancer, a lung adenocarcinoma with systemic metastasis, two gallbladder cancers with lung metastasis, and a colon cancer with liver metastasis. HPD in lymphocytes was measured using a highly sensitive chemiluminescence analyzer with laser light irradiation to detect photoemission by ¹O₂ from HPD. The intensity of chemiluminescence exhibited a linear correlation with the concentrations of HPD. In addition, the level of HPD in lymphocytes was significantly higher in cancer patients than that in healthy volunteers (p < 0.05). These results suggest that detection of the chemiluminescence of HPD in lymphocytes could be a sensitive and simple method for cancer diagnosis and screening.

keywords —— Cancer; hematoporphyrin derivative; chemiluminescence analyzer; singlet oxygen; lymphocyte.

© 2008 Tohoku University Medical Press

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Tohoku J. Exp. Med., 2008, 216, 47-52

Correspondence: Masahiro Kohno, Ph.D. New Industry Creation Hatchery Center, Tohoku University, Aoba 6-6-10, Aramaki, Aoba-ku, Sendai, 980-8579, Japan.

e-mail: mkohno@niche.tohoku.ac.jp