AUTHOR=Wang Ruoxiang , Nissen Nicholas N. , Zhang Yi , Shao Chen , Chu Chia-Yi , Huynh Carissa , Posadas Edwin M. , Tomlinson James S. , Lewis Michael S. , Pandol Stephen J. TITLE=Circulating Fatty Objects and Their Preferential Presence in Pancreatic Cancer Patient Blood Samples JOURNAL=Frontiers in Physiology VOLUME=13 YEAR=2022 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/physiology/articles/10.3389/fphys.2022.827531 DOI=10.3389/fphys.2022.827531 ISSN=1664-042X ABSTRACT=
Human cancers are often complicated with increased incidences of blood vessel occlusion, which are mostly insensitive to anticoagulation therapy. We searched for causal factors of cancer-associated embolism. A total of 2,017 blood samples was examined for visible abnormalities. Examined were peripheral blood samples from cancer patients who were about to undergo surgical treatment for genitourinary, breast, gastrointestinal or abdominal tumors. Samples from ambulatory patients being treated for recurrent or castration-resistant prostate cancers were included in the study. The lipid-rich nature was studied with lipophilic stains and lipid panel analysis, while surface membrane was assessed with specific staining and antibody detection. We identified a new entity, lipid droplet-like objects or circulating fatty objects (CFOs), visible in the blood samples of many cancer patients, with the potential of causing embolism. CFOs were defined as lipid-rich objects with a membrane, capable of gaining in volume through interaction with peripheral blood mononuclear cells in