Raman spectra for cancer biopsy

17 Jun 2002

A fiber-optic Raman probe devised by scientists in the Netherlands can detect localized cancers at different stages of development.

Gerwin Puppels and colleagues at the Erasmus Medical Centre in Rotterdam analysed the Raman spectra - effectively an optical fingerprint - of rats' palates that had previously been exposed to a carcinogenic chemical.

By comparing these spectra with a library of data, both the initial stages of the disease, called low-grade dysplasia (LGD) and the onset of cancer, known as high-grade dysplasia (HGD), could be tracked.

Every HGD occurrence was detected, while LGD was correctly identified in 7 out of 9 cases.