Light attenuation of human liver and hepatic tumors after surgical resection

Abstract

The attenuation of light in the human liver and hepatic tumors was measured in the 410-, 630-, and 670-nm wavelengths. Optical fibers coupled to a photon-counting system were positioned within the tissues to determine the light flux and were attached to a caliper gauge to measure the fiber separation distance. Five resected specimens each of metastatic carcinoma from the colon with normal liver and hepatocellular carcinoma with cirrhosis of the liver were used immediately after surgical resection. Metastatic tumors showed the deepest penetration at all wavelengths. A significant difference appeared between the cancerous and noncancerous tissues (P less than .01). Additionally, the cirrhotic liver tissues showed significant deep penetration by all wavelengths examined in comparison with normal liver tissues (P less than .01). The implications of light dosimetry for clinical application from the results of our study are discussed.

Optical properties of native and coagulated human liver tissue and liver metastases in the near infrared range

“…He described a 25% higher penetration depth for breast carcinoma tissue. Determining the optical penetration depth of healthy and metastatic human liver at the wavelengths of 410, 630 and 670 nm, Nakamura et al [21] likewise found a significantly higher penetration depth in tumor tissue. From a clinical point of view, these facts represent a considerable advantage in the treatment of liver metastases, since a greater tumor volume can be treated with the optimal adjustment of laser power.…”

“…The study performed by Marchesini et al recorded optical parameters of human liver tissue only at wavelengths of 514 and 633 nm [20]. Nakamura et al [21] determined the optical penetration depth of healthy human liver and liver metastasis only at wavelengths of 410, 630 and 670 nm. Otherwise comparability of results from animal tissue with the optical parameters of human liver tissue appears to be problematic.…”

Interstitial laser photocoagulation as a treatment for breast cancer

“…Tumour tissue is in theory likely to behave in a different manner from normal tissue when it interacts with light and support for this comes from two studies looking at the optical properties of normal and neoplastic tissue. Nakamura et al(1990) were able to show a difference in the optical properties of normal and malignant human liver tumours and Key et al (1991)were able to demonstrate a difference in the optical properties of benign and malignant breast tissue.…”

Time-resolved fluorescence and photon migration studies in biomedical and model random media

“…One of the common methods to obtain the optical parameters of tissues has been to measure the attenuation of cw light transmission as a function of sample thickness [80][81][82][83][84][85][86][87][88][89][90][91]. This technique generally measures the coherent part of the transmitted light.…”