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Applicability of AFM in cancer detection

Nature Nanotechnology volume 4, page 72 (2009)Cite this article

To the Editor — Using atomic force microscopy (AFM), Cross et al.1 showed that cancer cells from patients are about 70% less stiff than normal cells. Seven different clinical samples, each consisting of eight normal and eight malignant cells, were measured and from the reported results, one can deduce that three or four force curves were recorded at the same position for each single cell. Cross et al. conclude that nanomechanical analysis may be a potentially useful technique for detecting cancers in the clinic.

The correlation between deformability of cells and diseases is well-known2 and has been evaluated in cell filtration3 and cell 'poking'4 experiments. Developments in AFM5 have allowed cancer detection at the single-cell level by mechanical means; coupled with routine morphological analysis of cells on histological specimens, large differences between cancerous and normal cells can be identified with more certainty. However, for cell stiffness to be used as an indicator of cancer the following considerations should be put forward.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Henryk Niewodniczański Institute of Nuclear Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Radzikowskiego 152, Kraków, 31-342, Poland

    M. Lekka

  2. Jagiellonian University Medical College, Chair of Medical Biochemistry, Kopernika 7, Kraków, 31-034, Poland

    P. Laidler

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  1. M. Lekka
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  2. P. Laidler
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Correspondence to M. Lekka.

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Lekka, M., Laidler, P. Applicability of AFM in cancer detection. Nature Nanotech 4, 72 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2009.004

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