Histologic grade is a very important, but underappreciated, parameter of breast cancer aggressiveness. Despite its importance, it has historically not been included as one of the criteria for staging of this cancer. In this study, spectral fluorescence profiles from patients with breast carcinoma were acquired. Ratios of emission peaks at 340 over 440,460 nm from biomolecules in malignant and normal samples were calculated. Cancerous over normal ratios (double ratio (DR) method) were evaluated with respect to tumor characteristics. Increased tryptophan content in breast cancer tissues correlates strongly with high grade, but not with lymph node metastases, estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor or Her-2-Neu receptor status.

Date Published: 11 March 2015
PDF: 6 pages
Proc. SPIE 9318, Optical Biopsy XIII: Toward Real-Time Spectroscopic Imaging and Diagnosis, 931804 (11 March 2015); doi: 10.1117/12.2078414

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 9318:
Optical Biopsy XIII: Toward Real-Time Spectroscopic Imaging and Diagnosis
Robert R. Alfano; Stavros G. Demos, Editor(s)