Localization of tamoxifen in human breast cancer tumors by MALDI mass spectrometry imaging.

Background: Tamoxifen is used in endocrine treatment of breast cancer to inhibit estrogen signaling. A set of stratified ER-positive and ER-negative tumor sections was subjected to manual deposition of tamoxifen solution in order to investigate its spatial distribution upon exposure to interaction within thin tissue sections.

Methods: The localization of tamoxifen in tumor sections was assessed by matrix assisted laser deposition/ionization mass spectrometry imaging. The images of extracted ion maps were analyzed for comparison of signal intensity distributions.

Results: The precursor ion of tamoxifen (m/z 372.233) displayed heterogeneous signal intensity distributions in histological compartments of tumor tissue sections. The levels of tamoxifen in tumor cells compared with stroma were higher in ER-positive tissues, whereas ER-negative tissue sections showed lower signal intensities in tumor cells.

Conclusions: The experimental model was successfully applied on frozen tumor samples allowing for differentiation between ER groups based on distribution of tamoxifen.