Prognostic Relevance of Steroid Sulfation in Adrenocortical Carcinoma Revealed by Molecular Phenotyping Using High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry Imaging

BACKGROUND Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a rare tumor with variable prognosis even within the same tumor stage. Cancer-related sex hormones and their sulfated metabolites in body fluids can be used as tumor markers. The role of steroid sulfation in ACC has not yet been studied. MALDI mass spectrometry imaging (MALDI-MSI) is a novel tool for tissue-based chemical phenotyping. METHODS We performed phenotyping of formalin-fixed,...