Label-free detection of breast masses using multiphoton microscopy

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Imaging
• Oncology
• Pathology

Background:

• Histopathology is the standard for breast cancer diagnosis.
• Multiphoton microscopy (MPM) is explored as an adjunct diagnostic tool.
• Label-free imaging techniques are advancing cancer diagnostics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a label-free MPM technique for differentiating normal, benign, and malignant breast tissues.
• To assess MPM's accuracy in distinguishing benign from cancerous breast lesions.
• To explore MPM's potential for non-invasive, real-time diagnostic guidance.

Main Methods:

• Utilized two-photon excited fluorescence and second-harmonic generation (SHG) imaging.
• Imaged fresh, unfixed, unstained human breast biopsies using MPM.
• Compared MPM findings with subsequent routine H-E histopathology.

Main Results:

• MPM successfully differentiated between normal, benign, and malignant breast tissues.
• Cancerous tissues showed loss of SHG signals due to tumor cell infiltration and pleomorphism.
• Benign tissues exhibited clear SHG signals.
• MPM achieved 100% accuracy in identifying breast cancer tissues.

Conclusions:

• MPM is a highly accurate, label-free method for breast cancer diagnosis.
• The absence of SHG signals in MPM imaging is a strong indicator of malignancy.
• MPM shows significant potential for non-invasive diagnostic impressions to guide surgical biopsies and patient management.