The Department of Laryngology at the Andrzej Mielęcki Clinical Hospital of the Silesian Medical University is the leader of research at the Jagiellonian University's "Solaris" National Synchrotron Radiation Centre in Krakow, which was awarded through a competition. Hundreds of scientists compete for the opportunity to carry out research at the world's most modern synchrotron, and the decision is made by a committee made up of the most eminent representatives of science, including Nobel Prize winners. This is the second time that SUM scientists have been granted such a research opportunity.
Solaris is a device that allows research with photons, i.e. particles that penetrate deep into cells. In 2021, SUM scientists were granted a so-called diagnostic window to study tissue from head and neck cancers. This was the first ever tissue study of this kind on an accelerator. Another proposal has now been approved, which is a continuation and deepening of previous experiments.
- They involve assessing the localisation in cell organelles such as the nucleus, nucleolus, mitochondrion, lysosam and in the cytosol of the migration of elements such as iron, sulphur and phosphorus. The study is of squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx, but this type of cancer can occur in other organs, explains Jarosław Paluch, MD, PhD, from the Department of Laryngology at the SUM Faculty of Medical Sciences in Katowice.
In Solaris, we have a spectrum of light from invisible through visible to X-ray. And the light that Solaris gives is a million times stronger than the light that comes from the Sun to the Earth The device will allow tissue to be examined for composition at the electron level .
- In the first study, our aim was to see how oxygen behaves in cancer cells. The basis for the development of cancer, its infiltration and the formation of metastases, is the oxygen content of the cells. Its amount cannot be examined physically, but it is possible to do so indirectly by monitoring changes in iron values. The device that will enable us to monitor these changes and analyse them is Solaris," explains Dr J. Paluch.
The new grant presents SUM scientists with another task. - We will determine changes in the energy function of iron, which plays a role in the development of cancer. The aim in the future is, of course, to translate the findings into clinical practice, but as we all know, such research takes time. In general, we are starting already on 24 October," emphasises the SUM specialist.
