Visualising c-MET and Activated Neutrophils in Lung Cancer

Lung cancer is currently a major health problem in the UK. Despite being one of the most common cancers, lung cancer has a poor prognosis compared to other types of cancer and is the leading cause of cancer death in the world. As opposed to other organs, the lung is highly susceptible to inflammatory insults, for example from bacterial infection-induced and tobacco-induced inflammation. It has long been known that the cellular microenvironment that nurtures tumour growth and development is linked to sites of chronic inflammation but molecular insights into how external inflammation boosts or inhibits cancer in the lungs remains unclear. This study aims to directly visualise the expression of a well known marker of cancerous tissue, c-MET, and the activity of neutrophils in human lung cancer in vivo in situ using fibre-based endomicroscopy.