Gold-Nanoparticles Reflectance Discriminates Benign from Malignant Salivary Gland Neoplasms

Objectives: This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of gold nanoparticles conjugated with anti-EGFR monoclonal antibodies (GNPs-EGFR) in distinguishing between benign and malignant salivary gland tumors. Methods: A total of 49 oral salivary gland tissue samples were analyzed, including 22 malignant salivary gland tumors (MSGTs), 15 benign salivary gland tumors (BSGTs), and 12 control samples. For each sample, three 5 μm consecutive tissue sections were prepared. The first section was stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) to confirm the diagnosis, the second was immunohistochemically stained for anti-EGFR, and the third was treated with GNPs-EGFR followed by hyperspectral microscopy to analyze the reflectance spectrum. Results: Reflectance intensity was significantly higher (p < 0.001) in MSGTs compared to BSGTs and controls, with intensity levels increasing alongside tumor grade. The average hyperspectral reflectance values were strongly correlated with the GNPs-EGFR immunohistochemical score and varied significantly between subgroups (p < 0.001). Conclusions: GNPs-EGFR reflection measurements effectively differentiate MSGTs from BSGTs with high sensitivity. This diffusion-reflection technique holds potential as a valuable tool for tumor detection, surgical margin assessment, and intraoperative identification of residual disease in salivary gland tumors.