Advances in Intraoperative Flow Cytometry

Abstract

Flow cytometry is the gold-standard laser-based technique to measure and analyze fluorescence levels of immunostaining and DNA content in individual cells. It provides a valuable tool to assess cells in the G0/G1, S, and G2/M phases, and those with polyploidy, which holds prognostic significance. Frozen section analysis is the standard intraoperative assessment for tumor margin evaluation and tumor resection. Here, we present flow cytometry as a promising technique for intraoperative tumor analysis in different pathologies, including brain tumors, leptomeningeal dissemination, breast cancer, head and neck cancer, pancreatic tumor, and hepatic cancer. Flow cytometry is a valuable tool that can provide substantial information on tumor analysis and, consequently, maximize cancer treatment and expedite patients’ survival.

Assessment of Gliomas’ Grade of Malignancy and Extent of Resection Using Intraoperative Flow Cytometry

“…Furthermore, flow cytometers are widely available and cell cycle analysis is inexpensive. Now, iFC has been developed as a next-generation technique that allows the analysis of DNA content and the cell cycle of cells obtained during surgery to identify cancer cells and evaluate the extent of tumor removal in various types of cancers, and thus it can help improve the accuracy and safety of surgery [10,29]. A limitation of the current study is that other markers could also be analyzed to provide further evidence that would improve tumor characterization.…”

“…Some of the intraoperative technologies that can help achieve this goal are techniques for intraoperative diagnosis. Such techniques include, among others, intraoperative MRI, ultrasonography, fluorescence-guided surgery and, lately, intraoperative flow cytometry (iFC) [5][6][7][8][9][10][11].…”

Critical Assessment of Cancer Characterization and Margin Evaluation Techniques in Brain Malignancies: From Fast Biopsy to Intraoperative Flow Cytometry

“…Based on the speed and accuracy of flow cytometry, a recent advancement is its use as an intraoperative adjunct in the diagnosis of several types of malignancies. Among the first applications of intraoperative flow cytometry (iFC) is the analysis of brain tumors [15,48]. iFC represents a fusion of surgical precision to identify the features for advanced cellular analysis.…”