Raman microspectroscopy for cervical cancer diagnosis: an ex-vivo cryopreserved tissue analysis

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Optics
• Chemical Pathology
• Oncology

Background:

• Cervical cancer is a leading global malignancy with an urgent need for improved early diagnostic methods.
• Current diagnostic approaches lack objectivity and reproducibility.
• Novel techniques are required to identify reliable biomarkers for early detection.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize fresh cryopreserved human cervical tissue using Raman microspectroscopy.
• To identify spectral biomarkers indicative of chemical differences between healthy and malignant cervical tissues.
• To assess the feasibility of Raman microspectroscopy for early cervical cancer diagnosis.

Main Methods:

• Prospective collection and cryopreservation of human cervical tissue samples.
• Raman microspectroscopy analysis of fresh, thawed tissue sections using a 532 nm laser.
• Histopathological analysis for sample validation.
• Development of a classification model for tissue categorization.

Main Results:

• Distinct spectral differences observed between healthy and malignant cervical tissues.
• Tumoral tissues showed increased signals from lipids and proteins in the high-wavenumber region.
• Malignant samples exhibited characteristic nucleic acid signals and lacked collagen/glycogen features present in healthy tissues.
• A classification model achieved >90% accuracy in differentiating healthy from tumoral tissues.

Conclusions:

• Raman microspectroscopy can reliably differentiate healthy from tumoral cervical tissues.
• Identified spectral features serve as potential biomarkers for cervical cancer.
• The technique is feasible for real-time analysis of fresh samples, supporting clinical application for early diagnosis.