Subtyping non-small cell lung cancer by histology-guided spatial metabolomics

PURPOSE: Most cancer-related deaths worldwide are associated with lung cancer. Subtyping of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) into adenocarcinoma (AC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SqCC) is of importance, as therapy regimes differ. However, conventional staining and immunohistochemistry have their limitations. Therefore, a spatial metabolomics approach was aimed to detect differences between subtypes and to discriminate tumor and stroma regions in tissues. METHODS: Fresh-frozen NSCLC tissues (n = 35) were analyzed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-mass spectrometry imaging (MALDI-MSI) of small molecules (< m/z 1000). Measured samples were subsequently stained and histopathologically examined. A differentiation of subtypes and a discrimination of tumor and stroma regions was performed by receiver operating characteristic analysis and machine learning algorithms. RESULTS: Histology-guided spatial metabolomics revealed differences between AC and SqCC and between NSCLC tumor and tumor microenvironment. A diagnostic ability of 0.95 was achieved for the discrimination of AC and SqCC. Metabolomic contrast to the tumor microenvironment was revealed with an area under the curve of 0.96 due to differences in phospholipid profile. Furthermore, the detection of NSCLC with rarely arising mutations of the isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) gene was demonstrated through 45 times enhanced oncometabolite levels. CONCLUSION: MALDI-MSI of small molecules can contribute to NSCLC subtyping. Measurements can be performed intraoperatively on a single tissue section to support currently available approaches. Moreover, the technique can be beneficial in screening of IDH-mutants for the characterization of these seldom cases promoting the development of treatment strategies. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00432-021-03834-w.