Diagnostic tool for early detection of ovarian cancers using Raman spectroscopy

Abstract

With an overall survival rate of about 35%, ovarian cancer claims more than 13,000 women in the United States each year. It is estimated that roughly 1 in 70 women will develop ovarian cancer. Current screening techniques are challenged due to cost-ineffectiveness, variable false-positive results, and the asymptomatic nature of the early stages of ovarian cancer. The predominant screening method for ovarian cancers is transvaginal sonography (TVS). TVS is fairly accomplished at ovarian cancer detection (>90% sensitivity), however it is inefficient in distinguishing between benign and malignant masses. Accurate diagnosis of the ovarian tumor relies on exploratory laparotomy, thus increasing the cost and hazard of falsepositive screening methods. Raman spectroscopy has been used successfully as a diagnostic tool in several organ systems (such as breast, brain, colon, bladder, esophagus, and gynecologic tissues) in vitro. These studies have shown that Raman spectroscopy can be used to provide diagnosis of subtle changes in tissue pathology with high accuracy. Based on this success, we have developed a Raman spectroscopic system for application in the ovary. Using this system, the Raman signatures of normal and various types of non-normal human ovarian tissues were characterized in vitro. Raman spectra are being analyzed, and empirical as well as multivariate discriminatory algorithms developed. Based on the results of this study, a strategy for in vivo trials will be planned.

Raman spectroscopy for optical diagnosis in normal and cancerous tissue of the nasopharynx—preliminary findings

“…Raman analysis was carried out on fresh tissue within 2 hours of biopsy. While freezing allows more time before analysis and has been used in previous studies [8,[13][14][15], it can cause tissue artifacts making histological diagnosis less accurate. Following acquisition of Raman spectra the specimen was marked with toluidine blue for orientation and fixed in formalin for histological processing.…”

“…This could reduce the number of tissue biopsies required when evaluating patients with suspected cancer. The use of RS for differentiating premalignant and malignant lesions from normal tissue has been studied for various sites including the brain [4], breast [5][6][7][8], gastro-intestinal tract [9][10][11], gynecologic tract [12][13][14], larynx [15], and skin [16]. Results have been promising with sensitivities and specificities of 90% and above being reported [15].…”

Sensitivity of Raman spectroscopy to normal patient variability

“…1(c)-1(e), including the peaks that have been assigned in previous studies as lipid and DNA of ∼1303 cm − 1 , the phenylalanine and DNA region around 1510-1520 cm − 1 and the shoulders of the 1656 cm − 1 amide I peak. [47][48][49] Changes in the shoulders of the amide I peak are usually due to changes in the secondary structures of amide I, such as the β pleated sheet proteins. 49 These peaks that seemed to qualitatively have the most difference in the averaged composite spectra have large areas of overlap.…”

Design and characterization of a novel multimodal fiber-optic probe and spectroscopy system for skin cancer applications

“…Three common spectroscopic techniques are Raman spectroscopy (RS), diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), and laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy (LIFS). These techniques have been applied -either individually or in combinations -throughout the entire human body to investigate a wide range of pathologies including: atherosclerosis, 1, 2 osteoporosis, 3 brain edema, 4 cataract formation, 5 kidney stones, 6,7 and diabetes 8 and cancer of the breast, 9-11 cervix, 12 esophagus, 13,14 gastrointestinal tract, 15,16 brain, 17 lungs, 18,19 ovaries, 20 and bladder. 21 Here, we present a novel multimodal spectroscopy (MMS) device, combining RS, LIFS, and DRS, for the purpose of fast and non-invasive early detection of skin cancer which uses a variety of instrumentation and a custom contact probe capable of delivering and collecting light for all three modalities.…”