Funded Grants

Intrasurgical molecular diagnosis of human brain gliomas by mass spectrometry imaging

There can be no doubt as to the importance of the problem of better diagnosis, understanding and treatment of brain cancers. The Harvard group is approaching this problem by attempting to integrate a number of imaging approaches until now with emphasis on preoperative MRI imaging. The history of neurosurgical progress parallels the developments of improved visualization, and neurosurgical treatment is increasingly taking advantage of rapid developments in imaging and data presentation to decrease invasiveness and improve outcomes. From early efforts with ventriculography and angiography, the introduction of the operating microscope, the development of cross sectional imaging, and mostly recently the wide adoption of neuronavigation, neurosurgeons have relied on the implementation of new technologies to dramatically improve the precision, safety, and effectiveness of brain surgery. Intra-operative MRI, developed at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH), has provided unprecedented intra-operative visualization. Standard histopathology methods are still useful to define tumor boundaries but there is a need for more detailed molecular information than can be supplied by MRI. Drs Agar, Golby, and Ligon have therefore initiated a workflow for clinical investigation using mass spectrometry (MS) to guide neurosurgery.

The Purdue group has long been interested in using advanced analytical detection methods to identify particular molecules in complex mixtures while minimizing sample handling. The standard procedures used in environmental analysis for dioxins, for example, exemplify the laborious and difficult task of identifying individual chemicals in complex mixtures. Brain tissue includes many components, the most abundant of which are a great variety of lipids. Our approach to disease diagnosis is to use direct analysis performed on the tissue itself, without prior treatment