Abstract 4150: Development of a three-dimensional spatialomics map of lethal prostate cancer driven by clinical imaging
Authors: Ippolito Joseph E. , Ballard David H. , Bergeron Karla , Chidambaram Ritesh , Elumalai Anusha , Fraum Tyler J. , Jing Huaping , Kamelin Peter , Kim Eric H. , Kita Catherine , Klim Aleksandra , Knesis Anthony , Lim Mark , Luna José Marcio , Nakhoul Hani , Ragan Timothy , Rothschild Kenneth J. , Song Sheng-Kwei , Utt Kainen , Weimholt Cody , Yagnik Gargey , Yew Elijah , Angel Peggi M. , Drake Richard R. 
Published: March 2024

Prostate adenocarcinoma (PCa) is the most common malignancy and the second leading cause of cancer-related mortality in United States men. Following treatment for localized PCa, up to 50% of these men can experience disease recurrence, with subsequent metastasis and death. This indicates that there is suboptimal identification of lethal PCa at the time of diagnosis, despite advancements in imaging, genomics, and biomarkers. To improve the noninvasive diagnosis of lethal PCa at initial diagnosis, we have developed a novel magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) method, diffusion basis spectrum imaging (DBSI), that noninvasively measures cancer, stromal, and immune cell contributions to the prostate tumor microenvironment (TME). To validate DBSI for PCa, we have applied novel technologies to matched prostatectomy specimens that include (i) fully automated tissue section processing with serial 2-photon tomographic (STP) imaging of the sections to generate 3D volumetric structural maps of the tumor tissue and (ii) multiplex MALDI mass spectrometry imaging of untargeted glycans and extracellular matrix (ECM) peptides and of proteins targeted with novel photocleavable-mass-tagged antibodies (MALDI-IHC) to spatially resolve hundreds of biomolecules from the TME. To establish the feasibility of this approach, we recruited a patient with an unusually aggressive prostate cancer consisting of Gleason 5+4 acinar adenocarcinoma histology with intraductal growth that was locally invasive and lymph node positive at prostatectomy (stage T3bN1). This patient also had the unusual finding of low activity on prostate specific membrane antigen positron emission tomography (PSMA-PET). Following gross sectioning of the prostate with MRI-guided 3D printed molds to co-register clinical DBSI with histology, a 5-mm thick tissue cross-section containing tumor and normal prostate was imaged with high resolution ex vivo DBSI followed by 3D structural mapping with STP imaging. Selected slides in the 3D stack were subject to multiplexed MALDI imaging to identify relationships between cellular and molecular heterogeneity with tumor structure identified with DBSI and STP imaging. We discovered unique structural differences in the prostate tumor compared with the surrounding stroma based upon collagen and glycan modifications to the ECM that were recapitulated with second harmonic maps of collagen from STP imaging as well as stromal maps generated from DBSI imaging. Additional novel protein and glycan ECM components were expressed in this tumor known to be associated with poor patient outcomes. Together, these data represent the first evidence successfully linking noninvasive in vivo clinical imaging and de novo spatialomics technologies with potential to improve PCa diagnostics. This advanced imaging workflow can be applied to any tissue type, underscoring its relevance to translational cancer research.

Citation Format: Joseph E. Ippolito, David H. Ballard, Karla Bergeron, Ritesh Chidambaram, Anusha Elumalai, Tyler J. Fraum, Huaping Jing, Peter Kamelin, Eric H. Kim, Catherine Kita, Aleksandra Klim, Anthony Knesis, Mark Lim, José Marcio Luna, Hani Nakhoul, Timothy Ragan, Kenneth J. Rothschild, Sheng-Kwei Song, Kainen Utt, Cody Weimholt, Gargey Yagnik, Elijah Yew, Peggi M. Angel, Richard R. Drake. Development of a three-dimensional spatialomics map of lethal prostate cancer driven by clinical imaging [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2024; Part 1 (Regular Abstracts); 2024 Apr 5-10; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(6_Suppl):Abstract nr 4150.