AI Article Synopsis

  • Head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC) are serious conditions where successful treatment relies on the complete removal of tumors, and this study investigates a new imaging method called dynamic optical contrast imaging (DOCI).
  • The research involved imaging 47 tissue samples from 15 patients after surgery to analyze how well DOCI could differentiate between cancerous tissue and healthy tissue.
  • Results showed significant differences in tissue types, confirming that DOCI can quickly and accurately distinguish HNSCC from surrounding normal tissue, potentially enhancing surgical outcomes and patient recovery.

Article Abstract

Background: Head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs) are debilitating diseases for which a patient's prognosis depends heavily on complete tumor resection. Currently, the surgeon's fingers determine the location of tissue margins. This study evaluated the diagnostic utility of a novel imaging modality, dynamic optical contrast imaging (DOCI), in the detection of HNSCC. This system generates contrast by illuminating the tissue with pulsed light and detecting variations in endogenous fluorophore lifetimes.

Methods: A total of 47 fresh ex vivo samples from 15 patients were imaged with the DOCI system immediately after surgical resection. DOCI maps were analyzed to determine the statistical significance of contrast between tumors and adjacent nonmalignant tissue. Pilot intraoperative clinical data were also acquired.

Results: Statistical significance (P < .05) between muscle and tumor was established for 10 of 10 emission wavelengths, between collagen and tumor for 8 of 10 emission wavelengths, and between fat and tumor for 2 of 10 wavelengths. The system extracted relative fluorescence decay information in a surgically relevant field of view in <2 minutes.

Conclusions: This study demonstrates the feasibility of using DOCI to rapidly and accurately distinguish HNSCC from surrounding normal tissue. An analysis of DOCI images revealed microscopic characterization sufficient for tissue-type identification consistent with histology. Such an intraoperative tool would be transformative by allowing the rapid delineation of tumor tissue from nontumor tissue and thus maximizing the efficacy of resection and improving patient outcomes. Cancer 2017;123:879-86. © 2016 American Cancer Society.

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Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/cncr.30338DOI Listing

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