Abstract

A standard histopathology-slides based diagnostics becomes a serious process bottleneck due to rising incidence rates of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) and basal cell carcinoma (BCC). Leveraging tissue molecular information for diagnostics can be a beneficial alternative in certain cases. Sampling and processing of a constantly growing number of tumors can be enhanced with faster specimen collection methods together with high-throughput molecular identification approaches. Tumor specimens can be collected with electroporation-based biopsy (e-biopsy), a minimally invasive sampling collection tool with a proven ability, while mass spectrometry can be used for molecular identification.

The aim of this study was (i) to confirm the ability of e-biopsy technique to harvest metabolites, (ii) to obtain high-resolution metabolomic profiles of cSCC, BCC, and healthy skin tissues, and (iii) to perform a comparative analysis of the collected profiles.

Data, collected with e-biopsy coupled with ultra performance liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS-MS), expands the current metabolomic profiles reported for cSCC, BCC, and healthy skin. Here we report measurements of 2325 small metabolites identified (301 with high confidence) in 13 tissue samples from 12 patients. Comparative analysis identified 34 significantly (p<0.05) differentially expressed high-confidence metabolites. Generally, we observed a greater number of metabolites with higher expression, in cSCC and in BCC compared to healthy tissues, belonging to the subclass amino acids, peptides, and analogues.

Competing Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interest.

Funding Statement

The authors thank Israel Innovation authority Kamin project, the TAU SPARK fund, TAU Zimin Center for technologies for better life and the EuroNanoMed MATISSE project for their support of this project.

Author Declarations

I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained.

Yes

The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below:

This study was approved by the Meir Medical Center IRB, number MMC-19-0230.

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Yes

I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance).

Yes

I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable.

Yes

Data Availability

All the data that supports the findings of this study are available in the supplementary materials.

AbbreviationsBCCbasal cell carcinomacSCCcutaneous squamous cell carcinomae-biopsyelectroporation-based biopsyUPLC-MS-MSultra performance liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry