Towards non-invasive monitoring of non-melanoma skin cancer using spatially offset Raman spectroscopy
Martha Z. Vardaki, Eleftherios Pavlou, Nikolaos Simantiris, Evangeli Lampri, Konstantinos Seretis, N. Kourkoumelis
Abstract
Raman measurements were acquired from 22 skin biopsies using conventional back-scattering and a defocused modality (with and without a spatial offset). The spectral data were assessed against corresponding histopathological data to determine potential prognostic factors for lesion detection. The results revealed a positive correlation of protein and lipid content with the SCC and BCC types, respectively. By further correlating with patient data, multiple factor analysis (MFA) demonstrated a strong clustering of variables based on sex and age in all modalities. Specifically for the defocused modality (zero and 2 mm offset), further clustering occurred based on pathology. This study demonstrates the utility of the SORS technology in NMSC diagnosis prior to histopathological examination on the same tissue.