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Updated: Apr 14, 2026
Combining Reflectance Confocal Microscopy with Optical Coherence Tomography for Noninvasive Diagnosis of Skin Cancers via Image Acquisition
Published on: August 18, 2022
On the horizon: Optical imaging for cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma
Esther de Boer1,2, Lindsay S Moore1, Jason M Warram1
1Division of Otolaryngology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama.
Background:
Surgical resection with negative margins remains the standard of care for high-risk cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). However, surgical management is often limited by poor intraoperative tumor visualization and inability to detect occult nodal metastasis. The inability to intraoperatively detect microscopic disease can lead to additional surgery, tumor recurrence, and decreased survival.
Methods:
A comprehensive literature review was conducted to identify studies incorporating optical imaging technology in the management of cutaneous SCC (January 1, 2000-December 1, 2014).
Results:
Several innovative optical imaging techniques, Raman spectroscopy, confocal microscopy, and fluorescence imaging, have been developed for intraoperative surgical guidance. Fifty-seven studies review the ability of these techniques to improve cutaneous SCC localization at the gross and microscopic level.
Conclusion:
Significant advances have been achieved with real-time optical imaging strategies for intraoperative cutaneous SCC margin assessment and tumor detection. Optical imaging holds promise in improving the percentage of negative surgical margins and in the early detection of micrometastatic disease. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 38: E2204-E2213, 2016.
