The newly developed portable OCT equipment and flexible fiberoptic probe makes OCT a promising method for endoscopic "optical biopsy".

The high consistency of the first optical coherence tomography findings, the resolution of up to 10 microm, and the distinct pattern of normal, inflammatory, premalignant and malignant tissues make optical coherence tomography a promising method for endoscopically obtained optical biopsy.

We present the results in optical coherence tomography (OCT) visualization of structural changes in human oral cavity and pharyngeal mucosa for 14 patients in the process of radiation and chemoradiation therapy. Typical mucosal changes are seen as a decrease in the tissue layer contrast progressing to a complete contrast loss as severe mucosal damage occurs. Similar evolution in OCT images was observed for all patients. OCT changes can be seen prior to visual mucosal changes and increased as more mucosal damage occurs. Moreover, OCT was able to obtain information on the specific features of the patient response depending on the irradiation method and the individual radiosensitivity.

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