A new approach for the detection of cervical cancer in Thai women

The objective was to screen cervical cell samples of Thai women by using the Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectrophotometry technique; the results were compared to the histologic diagnosis (gold standard).

FTIR spectrophotometry is a new technology for cervical cancer screening. Instead of detecting the morphological changes as used in Pap smear test, this technique detects, at the molecular level, structural changes of functional groups through the changes of the infrared absorption spectrum. When the infrared light is passed through a cervical cell sample, a molecule absorbs infrared radiation of the appropriate frequency which excites it from one vibrational or rotational level to another. A graph of energy absorbed versus frequency is the absorption spectrum of the sample. The FTIR spectra can be interpreted as normal and abnormal results. First, significant changes in the intensity ratios and, second, significant shifts of the peak frequencies were detected. Two hundred seventy-five cervical cell specimens were received from patients undergoing hysterectomy at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University Hospital. Samples were collected, prepared, and analyzed by FTIR spectroscopy.

Histological examinations showed 108 abnormal cases and 167 normal cases. FTIR results versus histology showed sensitivity of 96.3% and specificity of 96.4%. False-negative and false-positive rates were 3.7 and 3.6%, respectively.

FTIR showed high sensitivity and yielded a good false-negative rate. Besides the cervical cancer detection, the FTIR spectroscopy technique can also elicit positive results from adenocarcinoma of the endometrium, sarcoma of the uterus, and ovarian malignancies.