Application of Raman Spectroscopy and Infrared Spectroscopy in the Identification of Breast Cancer

Abstract

Raman spectroscopy and infrared (IR) spectroscopy are both techniques that allow for the investigation of vibrating chemical particles. These techniques provide information not only about chemical particles through the identification of functional groups and spectral analysis of so-called "fingerprints", these methods allow for the qualitative and quantitative analyses of chemical substances in the sample. Both of these spectral techniques are frequently being used in biology and medicine in diagnosing illnesses and monitoring methods of therapy. The type of breast cancer found in woman is often a malignant tumor, causing 1.38 million new cases of breast cancer and 458 000 deaths in the world in 2013. The most important risk factors for breast cancer development are: sex, age, family history, specific benign breast conditions in the breast, ionizing radiation, and lifestyle. The main purpose of breast cancer screening tests is to establish early diagnostics and to apply proper treatment. Diagnoses of breast cancer are based on: (1) physical techniques (e.g., ultrasonography, mammography, elastography, magnetic resonance, positron emission tomography [PET]); (2) histopathological techniques; (3) biological techniques; and (4) optical techniques (e.g., photo acoustic imaging, fluorescence tomography). However, none of these techniques provides unique or especially revealing answers. The aim of our study is comparative spectroscopic measurements on patients with the following: normal non-cancerous breast tissue; breast cancer tissues before chemotherapy; breast cancer tissues after chemotherapy; and normal breast tissues received around the cancerous breast region. Spectra collected from breast cancer patients shows changes in amounts of carotenoids and fats. We also observed changes in carbohydrate and protein levels (e.g., lack of amino acids, changes in the concentration of amino acids, structural changes) in comparison with normal breast tissues. This fact verifies that Raman spectroscopy and IR spectroscopy are very useful diagnostic tools that will shed new light in understanding the etiology of breast cancer.

FPA-FTIR Microspectroscopy for Monitoring Chemotherapy Efficacy in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

“…healthy breast tissue, cancerous breast tissue, and post-chemotherapy breast tissue). Our key finding was the correlation between the spectral characteristics and treatment efficacy14, which agreed well to one another suggesting that the key to the treatment response was in fact changes in biochemical makeups occurred in the tissue, which could be detected by FTIR and multivariate data analysis approach. We also found that, based on the observed FTIR spectral features, embedding biological tissue in paraffin did not alter chemical information in the analyzed materials, and hence was a suitable sample preparation for FTIR measurement15.…”

“…Accordingly, the spectral features within these two ranges contained biological bands of interest that were not subject to the interference from the paraffin used as an embedding agent. The detailed assignment of bands found in the spectra of the breast tissue in this study is based mainly on our previous FTIR studies of breast tissue1415 as well as live marine microorganism16.…”

The Clinical Application of Raman Spectroscopy for Breast Cancer Detection

“…Once a mass is found in the breast, ultrasonography, diagnostic mammography, and/or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) will be recommended by a physician. If the mass is possibly malignant, a core needle biopsy and histopathological techniques are necessary [2]. Unfortunately, this invasive examination cannot ensure a 100% correct diagnosis.…”

Different Phases of Breast Cancer Cells: Raman Study of Immortalized, Transformed, and Invasive Cells

“…This technique has been extensively applied to detect cancers in a wide range of organs including the cervix, skin, mouth, brain, prostate and ear [14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22]. Many studies have been published in the last decade using Raman spectroscopy as a non-invasive tool for the diagnostic analysis of breast cancer cells and tissues [23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30], where differences between cancerous samples and normal samples have been analyzed and explained. The present work has been undertaken to understand the progression of breast cancer by monitoring different phases of cancer systematically, which could suggest potential biomarkers of cancer progression and could be used for early detection.…”