Assessing lung cancer progression and survival with infrared spectroscopy of blood serum

Abstract Background Infrared molecular fingerprinting has been identified as a new minimally invasive technological tool for disease diagnosis. While the utility of cross-molecular infrared fingerprints of serum and plasma for in vitro cancer diagnostics has been recently demonstrated, their potenti...

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Main Authors: Kosmas V. Kepesidis, Mircea-Gabriel Stoleriu, Nico Feiler, Lea Gigou, Frank Fleischmann, Jacqueline Aschauer, Sabine Eiselen, Ina Koch, Niels Reinmuth, Amanda Tufman, Jürgen Behr, Mihaela Žigman
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Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-02-01
Series:BMC Medicine
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-025-03924-3
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author Kosmas V. Kepesidis
Mircea-Gabriel Stoleriu
Nico Feiler
Lea Gigou
Frank Fleischmann
Jacqueline Aschauer
Sabine Eiselen
Ina Koch
Niels Reinmuth
Amanda Tufman
Jürgen Behr
Mihaela Žigman
author_facet Kosmas V. Kepesidis
Mircea-Gabriel Stoleriu
Nico Feiler
Lea Gigou
Frank Fleischmann
Jacqueline Aschauer
Sabine Eiselen
Ina Koch
Niels Reinmuth
Amanda Tufman
Jürgen Behr
Mihaela Žigman
author_sort Kosmas V. Kepesidis
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background Infrared molecular fingerprinting has been identified as a new minimally invasive technological tool for disease diagnosis. While the utility of cross-molecular infrared fingerprints of serum and plasma for in vitro cancer diagnostics has been recently demonstrated, their potential for stratifying and predicting the prognosis of lung cancer remained unexplored. This study investigates the capability of this approach to predict survival and stratify lung cancer patients. Methods Molecular fingerprinting through vibrational spectroscopy is employed to probe lung cancer. Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy is applied to blood sera from 160 therapy-naive lung cancer patients, who were followed for up to 4 years. Machine learning is then utilized to evaluate the prognostic utility of this new approach. Additionally, a case-control study involving 501 individuals is analyzed to investigate the relationship between FTIR spectra and disease progression. Results Overall, we establish a strong correlation between the infrared fingerprints and disease progression, specifically in terms of tumor stage. Furthermore, we demonstrate that infrared fingerprinting provides insights into patient survival at performance levels comparable to those of tumor stage and relevant blood-based biomarkers. Conclusions Identifying the combined capacity of infrared fingerprinting to complement primary lung cancer diagnostics and to assist in the assessment of lung cancer survival represents the first proof-of-concept study underscoring the potential of this profiling platform. This may provide new avenues for the development of tailored, personalized treatment decision-making.
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spelling doaj-art-ef2a27271fdc4bce9f47b9d85b2d16772025-08-20T03:40:45ZengBMCBMC Medicine1741-70152025-02-0123111410.1186/s12916-025-03924-3Assessing lung cancer progression and survival with infrared spectroscopy of blood serumKosmas V. Kepesidis0Mircea-Gabriel Stoleriu1Nico Feiler2Lea Gigou3Frank Fleischmann4Jacqueline Aschauer5Sabine Eiselen6Ina Koch7Niels Reinmuth8Amanda Tufman9Jürgen Behr10Mihaela Žigman11Chair of Experimental Physics - Laser Physics, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU)Asklepios Biobank for Lung Diseases, Department of Thoracic Surgery, Member of the German Center for Lung Research, DZL, Asklepios Fachkliniken München-GautingChair of Experimental Physics - Laser Physics, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU)Chair of Experimental Physics - Laser Physics, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU)Chair of Experimental Physics - Laser Physics, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU)Chair of Experimental Physics - Laser Physics, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU)Asklepios Biobank for Lung Diseases, Department of Thoracic Surgery, Member of the German Center for Lung Research, DZL, Asklepios Fachkliniken München-GautingAsklepios Biobank for Lung Diseases, Department of Thoracic Surgery, Member of the German Center for Lung Research, DZL, Asklepios Fachkliniken München-GautingAsklepios Biobank for Lung Diseases, Department of Thoracic Surgery, Member of the German Center for Lung Research, DZL, Asklepios Fachkliniken München-GautingDepartment of Medicine V, LMU University Hospital, LMU Munich, Member of the German Center for Lung ResearchDepartment of Medicine V, LMU University Hospital, LMU Munich, Member of the German Center for Lung ResearchChair of Experimental Physics - Laser Physics, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU)Abstract Background Infrared molecular fingerprinting has been identified as a new minimally invasive technological tool for disease diagnosis. While the utility of cross-molecular infrared fingerprints of serum and plasma for in vitro cancer diagnostics has been recently demonstrated, their potential for stratifying and predicting the prognosis of lung cancer remained unexplored. This study investigates the capability of this approach to predict survival and stratify lung cancer patients. Methods Molecular fingerprinting through vibrational spectroscopy is employed to probe lung cancer. Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy is applied to blood sera from 160 therapy-naive lung cancer patients, who were followed for up to 4 years. Machine learning is then utilized to evaluate the prognostic utility of this new approach. Additionally, a case-control study involving 501 individuals is analyzed to investigate the relationship between FTIR spectra and disease progression. Results Overall, we establish a strong correlation between the infrared fingerprints and disease progression, specifically in terms of tumor stage. Furthermore, we demonstrate that infrared fingerprinting provides insights into patient survival at performance levels comparable to those of tumor stage and relevant blood-based biomarkers. Conclusions Identifying the combined capacity of infrared fingerprinting to complement primary lung cancer diagnostics and to assist in the assessment of lung cancer survival represents the first proof-of-concept study underscoring the potential of this profiling platform. This may provide new avenues for the development of tailored, personalized treatment decision-making.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-025-03924-3Lung cancerInfrared molecular fingerprintingSurvival analysisPrognostic biomarkerLiquid biopsy
spellingShingle Kosmas V. Kepesidis
Mircea-Gabriel Stoleriu
Nico Feiler
Lea Gigou
Frank Fleischmann
Jacqueline Aschauer
Sabine Eiselen
Ina Koch
Niels Reinmuth
Amanda Tufman
Jürgen Behr
Mihaela Žigman
Assessing lung cancer progression and survival with infrared spectroscopy of blood serum
BMC Medicine
Lung cancer
Infrared molecular fingerprinting
Survival analysis
Prognostic biomarker
Liquid biopsy
title Assessing lung cancer progression and survival with infrared spectroscopy of blood serum
title_full Assessing lung cancer progression and survival with infrared spectroscopy of blood serum
title_fullStr Assessing lung cancer progression and survival with infrared spectroscopy of blood serum
title_full_unstemmed Assessing lung cancer progression and survival with infrared spectroscopy of blood serum
title_short Assessing lung cancer progression and survival with infrared spectroscopy of blood serum
title_sort assessing lung cancer progression and survival with infrared spectroscopy of blood serum
topic Lung cancer
Infrared molecular fingerprinting
Survival analysis
Prognostic biomarker
Liquid biopsy
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-025-03924-3
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