In situ optical spectroscopy has become a very important method for diagnosing cancer in the last two decades, as it is not invasive and shows results very quickly. The method consists of illuminating a specific tissue (e.g. a tumor), and then use an optical spectrometer to measure and analyse the optical spectra arising from either emission or absorption of the light. Through this method, usually used to identify materials, valuable information on the composition of the tumor is acquired allowing differentiating between malignant and benign tumors.
Currently, a Mexican researcher who is developing his doctoral thesis in the Institute of Photonic Sciences in Barcelona, Miguel Mireles Núñez, is working on a research that seeks detecting, monitoring and treating cancerous tumors trough diffuse optic spectroscopy, in mouse models of renal cancer.
“When you put light on a tissue, the photon collects information in its path. Depending on how far it travels, it will be the analyzed tissue volume. Upon receiving it, certain characteristics of the tumor are known through their optical properties, such as dispersion and absorption, which are related to blood volume, amount of water and fat, as well as oxygenation,” Mireles Núñez, who is an electronic engineer graduated from the Faculty of Sciences of the Autonomous University of San Luis Potosí, said.
For monitoring, the information provided allows knowing if the tumor is responding or is resistant to therapy. “In this process we can predict the evolution of the treatment, and even the volume that will reach the tumor and its characteristics,” he said.
In the case of therapy, diffuse reflection spectroscopy raises the temperature of the tumor (local hyperthermia) to burn the tumor without invading other healthy tissues. To do this, gold nanoparticles are used, to which light is applied to elevate the temperature in a localized and optimal way.
Source: Agencia ID
