Discrimination of healthy oral tissue from oral cancer based on the mean grey value determined by optical coherence tomography.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to identify a quantitative index for optical coherence tomography (OCT) images to discriminate tumours from surrounding tissues. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Based on OCT measurements, mean grey values were determined from 432 locations on fifty-four human tissue specimens (eighteen cancerous, para-cancerous, and normal tissues each). These results were histologically evaluated by hematoxylin and eosin staining (H&E). RESULTS: The mean grey values of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) measurements were significantly different from those of the surrounding healthy tissue (p value < 0.0001), with the former being higher. The sensitivity and specificity of detecting tumourous tissue using this approach were 93 and 94%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: OCT as a non-invasive, real-time imaging method, correlates well with H&E pathological images. It can effectively distinguish squamous cell carcinoma from normal tissues with high sensitivity and specificity and is thus expected to assist and guide tumour margin evaluation. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: This discovery highlights the potential of OCT in the objective evaluation of tumour margin during surgery.

Long-term Intravital Investigation of an Orthotopic Glioma Mouse Model via Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Probing brain tumor microvasculature holds significant importance in both basic cancer research and medical practice for tracking tumor development and assessing treatment outcomes. However, few imaging methods commonly used in clinics can noninvasively monitor the brain microvascular network at high precision and without exogenous contrast agents in vivo. The present study aimed to investigate the characteristics of microvasculature during brain tumor development in an orthotopic glioma mouse model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An orthotopic glioma mouse model was established by surgical orthotopic implantation of U87-MG-luc cells into the mouse brain. Then, optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) was utilized to characterize the microvasculature progression within 14 days. RESULTS: The orthotopic glioma mouse model evaluated by bioluminescence imaging and MRI was successfully generated. As the tumor grew, the microvessels within the tumor area slowly decreased, progressing from the center to the periphery for 14 days. CONCLUSION: This study highlights the potential of OCTA as a useful tool to noninvasively visualize the brain microvascular network at high precision and without any exogenous contrast agents in vivo.