Localization of tamoxifen in human breast cancer tumors by MALDI mass spectrometry imaging

BACKGROUND: Tamoxifen is used in endocrine treatment of breast cancer to inhibit estrogen signaling. A set of stratified ER-positive and ER-negative tumor sections was subjected to manual deposition of tamoxifen solution in order to investigate its spatial distribution upon exposure to interaction within thin tissue sections. METHODS: The localization of tamoxifen in tumor sections was assessed by matrix assisted laser deposition/ionization mass spectrometry imaging. The images of extracted ion maps were analyzed for comparison of signal intensity distributions. RESULTS: The precursor ion of tamoxifen (m/z 372.233) displayed heterogeneous signal intensity distributions in histological compartments of tumor tissue sections. The levels of tamoxifen in tumor cells compared with stroma were higher in ER-positive tissues, whereas ER-negative tissue sections showed lower signal intensities in tumor cells. CONCLUSIONS: The experimental model was successfully applied on frozen tumor samples allowing for differentiation between ER groups based on distribution of tamoxifen. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40169-016-0090-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.