Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the eighth most common cancer worldwide. If early stage (stage I) diagnosis occurs, the 2 year survival rate is 87.5% (Cancer Research, U.K.). However, most oral cancers are diagnosed at late stage and, consequently, the overall survival rate for OSCC remains poor (approximately 50% at 5 years post-presentation). A novel screening assay is investigated in which a malignant cell population derived from the oral mucosa is distinguished from normal oral cells on the basis of its dielectric phenotype.
Methods:
Dielectrophoresis (DEP) is a phenomenon whereby a force is exerted on a dielectric particle (a cell) when exposed to a non uniform electric field. The magnitude and direction of the force is dependent, in part, on the dielectric properties of the cell. The response of cell populations with different dielectric phenotypes, when exposed to an electric field, will be dissimilar. In this study, DEP has been used to determine the difference in dielectric phenotype between OSCC cell lines (H357, FADU and CAL-27) and normal human keratinocytes (NHKs). In addition, cells derived from organotypic models of the normal oral mucosa and models of OSCC have been analysed with DEP.
Results:
The results show significant electrophysiological differences in the cytoplasm of NHK's and malignant keratinocytes.
Conclusions:
Malignant keratinocytes exhibit an altered dielectric phenotype to normal keratinocytes, in vitro. It is proposed that DEP has the potential to be used in a clinical setting as a cheap, non-invasive screening tool for OSCC.