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Updated: Mar 5, 2026
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Detection and Isolation of Cancer in Prostate Biopsies Using Stimulated Raman Histology and Artificial Intelligence
Published on: June 10, 2025
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Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy can differentiate high grade and low grade prostatic carcinoma.
Summary
An optical biopsy needle using diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS) shows promise for distinguishing high-grade (HG) from low-grade (LG) prostate cancer, improving diagnostic accuracy and patient care.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Optics
- Medical Diagnostics
- Oncology
Background:
- Prostate cancer grading relies on the Gleason Score (GS), with GS 6 (low grade, LG) indicating better prognosis and GS >7 (high grade, HG) indicating worse prognosis.
- Current transrectal ultrasound-guided biopsies have limitations in accurately diagnosing HG prostate cancer due to sampling errors.
- Diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS) are sensitive to tissue morphology and architecture, suggesting potential for differentiating between LG and HG prostatic carcinoma.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and evaluate an optical biopsy needle prototype for measuring DRS in prostate tissue.
- To assess the accuracy of DRS in differentiating between benign, LG, and HG prostate tissue.
- To explore the potential of DRS-guided optical biopsy for improved prostate cancer diagnosis and patient management.
Main Methods:
- A 15-gauge optical biopsy needle with an integrated optical sensor was prototyped.
- DRS measurements were taken from 187 biopsy cores from 20 surgically excised prostates at 5 nm intervals (500-700 nm).
- Histopathological classification (benign, LG, HG) was correlated with DRS data using partial least square analysis and support vector machine classification.
Main Results:
- The study included 29 HG and 49 LG cancers among the biopsy cores.
- DRS achieved 76% sensitivity and 80% specificity for differentiating HG from benign tissue, and 76% sensitivity and 73% specificity for differentiating HG from LG tissue.
- The optical biopsy needle demonstrated potential for accurate differentiation, although 24% of HG cancers were not diagnosed.
Conclusions:
- An optical biopsy needle guided by DRS shows sufficient accuracy to differentiate high-grade from low-grade prostate carcinoma and benign tissue.
- This technology may enable precise targeting of HG prostate cancer, leading to more accurate disease assessment.
- The findings suggest a potential improvement in patient care through enhanced diagnostic capabilities for prostate cancer.
