Optical characterization of normal, benign, and malignant thyroid tissue: a pilot study.

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Optics
• Medical Diagnostics
• Endocrinology

Background:

• Fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is standard for thyroid pathology diagnosis but has limitations.
• FNAC yields inconclusive and false-negative results for both benign and malignant thyroid lesions.
• Improved methods are needed for accurate intraoperative assessment of thyroid tissue.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy as a potential diagnostic tool for thyroid pathologies.
• To differentiate between benign and malignant thyroid lesions using fluorescence properties.
• To explore a minimally invasive, non-destructive method for intraoperative thyroid evaluation.

Main Methods:

• Acquisition of absorbance, fluorescence, excitation, and time-resolved fluorescence data from 17 human thyroid samples.
• Analysis of endogenous fluorophores and fluorescence emission bands.
• Statistical analysis (ANOVA with Tukey test) of fluorescence lifetimes for benign and malignant tissues.

Main Results:

• Thyroid tissue exhibits fluorescence originating from multiple endogenous fluorophores, resulting in several emission bands.
• Significant differences in fluorescence lifetimes were observed between benign and malignant thyroid lesions (p < 0.05).
• The Tukey test confirmed these differences with a high confidence level (98.06%).

Conclusions:

• Fluorescence lifetimes of thyroid tissues show potential as a biomarker for distinguishing benign from malignant lesions.
• Time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy offers a promising non-destructive method for intraoperative thyroid diagnosis.
• Further research may establish fluorescence techniques as a valuable tool for surgeons in identifying thyroid abnormalities.