High wavenumber Raman spectroscopy for intraoperative assessment of breast tumour margins

Optimal oncological results and patient outcomes are achieved in surgery for early breast cancer with breast conserving surgery (BCS) where this is appropriate. A limitation of BCS occurs when cancer is present at, or close, to the resection margin - termed a 'positive' margin - and re-excision is recommended to reduce recurrence rate. This is occurs in 17% of BCS in the UK and there is therefore a critical need for a way to assess margin status intraoperatively to ensure complete excision with adequate margins at the first operation. This study presents the potential of high wavenumber (HWN) Raman spectroscopy to address this. Freshly excised specimens from thirty patients undergoing surgery for breast cancer were measured using a surface Raman probe, and a multivariate classification model to predict normal versus tumour was developed from the data. This model achieved 77.1% sensitivity and 90.8% specificity following leave one patient out cross validation, with the defining features being differences in water content and lipid versus protein content. This demonstrates the feasibility of HWN Raman spectroscopy to facilitate future intraoperative margin assessment at specific locations. Clinical utility of the approach will require further research.