Fluorescence profiles from breast cancer and breast normal tissue samples with excitation wavelengths at 280 nm and 340 nm were obtained using the conventional LS-50 Perkin-Elmer spectrometer. Fluorescence ratios from these tissue samples, demonstrated by emission peaks at 340 nm, 440 nm and 460 nm and likely representing tryptophan and NADH, show increased relative content of tryptophan in malignant samples. Double ratio (DR) techniques were used to measure the severity of disease. The single excitation double ratio (Single-DR) method utilizes the emission intensity peaks from the spectrum acquired using a single excitation of 280 nm; while the dual excitation double ratio (dual-DR) method utilizes the emission intensity peaks from the spectra acquired using an excitation of 280 nm and 340 nm. Single-DR and dual-DR from 13 patients with breast carcinoma were compared in terms of their efficiency to distinguish high from low/intermediate tumors. Similar results were found with both methods. Results suggest that dual excitation wavelengths may be as effective as single excitation wavelength in calculating the relative content of biomolecules in breast cancer tissue, as well as for the assessment of the malignant potential of these tumors.

Date Published: 11 March 2015
PDF: 7 pages
Proc. SPIE 9318, Optical Biopsy XIII: Toward Real-Time Spectroscopic Imaging and Diagnosis, 93180Y (11 March 2015); doi: 10.1117/12.2078432

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