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Quantifying collagen fiber orientation in breast cancer using quantitative phase imaging
Hassaan Majeed1, Chukwuemeka Okoro2, André Kajdacsy-Balla3
1University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, Quantitative Light Imaging (QLI) Lab, Department of Bioengineering, Beckman Institute of Advanced Science and Technology, Urbana, Illinois, United States.
Journal of Biomedical Optics
|April 8, 2017
Summary
Spatial Light Interference Microscopy (SLIM) offers a cost-effective, high-throughput method for analyzing collagen fiber orientation in breast cancer stroma. This technique provides prognostic information comparable to Second-Harmonic Generation Microscopy (SHGM).
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Optics
- Cancer Research
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- Tumor progression in breast cancer is influenced by the tumor microenvironment, particularly stromal collagen.
- Collagen fiber orientation in breast stroma is a key prognostic marker for tumor growth and metastasis.
- Current methods like Second-Harmonic Generation Microscopy (SHGM) are effective but have limitations in throughput and cost.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate Spatial Light Interference Microscopy (SLIM) as a viable alternative for analyzing collagen fiber orientation in breast cancer.
- To compare the efficacy of SLIM with SHGM in extracting prognostic information from stromal collagen.
- To explore SLIM's potential as a high-throughput clinical tool.
Main Methods:
- Label-free quantitative phase imaging using Spatial Light Interference Microscopy (SLIM).
- Analysis of collagen fiber orientation in tumor-adjacent stroma.
- Comparison of SLIM data with established Second-Harmonic Generation Microscopy (SHGM) findings.
Main Results:
- SLIM successfully provided information on collagen fiber orientation comparable to SHGM.
- SLIM offers significantly higher throughput due to its wide-field geometry.
- SLIM systems are simpler and less expensive than SHGM.
Conclusions:
- SLIM is a promising label-free imaging technique for assessing collagen fiber orientation in breast tissue.
- SLIM can extract crucial prognostic information, potentially serving as a convenient, high-throughput clinical tool for patient prognosis.
- The findings suggest SLIM could enhance breast cancer diagnostics and treatment planning.