Two-photon optical imaging, spectral and fluorescence lifetime analysis to discriminate urothelial carcinoma grades

In the framework of urologic oncology, mini-invasive procedures have increased in the last few decades particularly for urothelial carcinoma. One of the essential elements in the management of this disease is still the diagnosis, which strongly influences the choice of treatment. The histopathologic evaluation of the tumor grade is a keystone of diagnosis, and tumor characterization is not possible with just a macroscopic evaluation. Even today intraoperative evaluation remains difficult despite the emergence of new technologies which use exogenous fluorophore. This study assessed an optical multimodal technique based on endogenous fluorescence, combining qualitative and quantitative analysis, for the diagnostic of urothelial carcinoma. It was found that the combination of two-photon fluorescence, second harmonic generation microscopy, spectral analysis and fluorescence lifetime imaging were all able to discriminate tumor from healthy tissue, and to determine the grade of tumors. Spectral analysis of fluorescence intensity and the redox ratio used as quantitative evaluations showed statistical differences between low-grade and high-grade tumors. These results showed that multimodal optical analysis is a promising technology for the development of an optical fiber setup designed for an intraoperative diagnosis of urothelial carcinoma in the area of endo-urology.