Application of Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy in Head and Neck Cancer Diagnosis

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) has emerged as a crucial analytical tool in the field of oncology, particularly presenting significant challenges for the diagnosis and treatment of head and neck cancer. This Review provides an overview of the current status and prospects of SERS applications, highlighting their profound impact on molecular biology-level diagnosis, tissue-level identification, HNC therapeutic monitoring, and integration with emerging technologies. The application of SERS for single-molecule assays such as epidermal growth factor receptors and PD-1/PD-L1, gene expression analysis, and tumor microenvironment characterization is also explored. This Review showcases the innovative applications of SERS in liquid biopsies such as high-throughput lateral flow analysis for ctDNA quantification and salivary diagnostics, which can offer rapid and highly sensitive assays suitable for immediate detection. At the tissue level, SERS enables cancer cell visualization and intraoperative tumor margin identification, enhancing surgical precision and decision-making. The role of SERS in radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and targeted therapy is examined along with its use in real-time pharmacokinetic studies to monitor treatment response. Furthermore, this Review delves into the synergistic relationship between SERS and artificial intelligence, encompassing machine learning and deep learning algorithms, marking the dawn of a new era in precision oncology. The integration of SERS with genomics, metabolomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and single-cell omics at the multiomics level will revolutionize our comprehension and management of HNC. This Review offers an overview of the transformative impacts of SERS and examines future directions as well as challenges in this dynamic research field.