Desorption electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry imaging of esophageal lymph mode metastases

Lymph node metastases (LNM) and primary tumour samples were analysed using desorption electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry imaging (DESI MSI). Current assessment of LNM depends on subjective histopathological assessment, whereas analysis by DESI MSI permits an entirely objective assessment. The mass spectral data revealed specific lipidomic patterns across samples, which were shown to correspond to the immunohistochemical image. Statistical prediction of LNM samples was performed using the esophageal adenocarcinoma samples with sensitivity and specificity of 89.5% and 100%, respectively.