Raman spectroscopy for cancer detection and cancer surgery guidance: translation to the clinics

Abstract

Oncological applications of Raman spectroscopy have been contemplated, pursued, and developed at academic level for at least 25 years. Published studies aim to detect pre-malignant lesions, detect cancer in less invasive stages, reduce the number of unnecessary biopsies and guide surgery towards the complete removal of the tumour with adequate tumour resection margins. This review summarizes actual clinical needs in oncology that can be addressed by spontaneous Raman spectroscopy and it provides an overview over the results that have been published between 2007 and 2017. An analysis is made of the current status of translation of these results into clinical practice. Despite many promising results, most of the applications addressed in scientific studies are still far from clinical adoption and commercialization. The main hurdles are identified, which need to be overcome to ensure that in the near future we will see the first Raman spectroscopy-based solutions being used in routine oncologic diagnostic and surgical procedures.

Clinical applications of infrared and Raman spectroscopy: state of play and future challenges

“…The field of Raman Spectroscopy for cancer detection and cancer surgery guidance has recently been reviewed by Santos et al, demonstrating real progress towards clinical translation of these techniques and adoption by the medical community, as well as highlighting challenges [44].…”

Qualitative and quantitative analysis of therapeutic solutions using Raman and infrared spectroscopy

“…Vibrational spectroscopic techniques, both infrared (IR) absorption and Raman scattering, deliver specific molecular fingerprinting signatures of samples. They have been extensively studied for biomedical applications [10,11] can be used and exploited as novel and accurate methods for histopathology [12], cytology [13], biopsy characterisation [14], surgical guidance [15], treatment monitoring [16] and drug studies [17]. The rapid, cost effective, label free and non-destructive advantages are indeed often pointed out to highlight the benefits of those techniques, but it is the analytical capabilities in terms of both qualitative and quantitative performances are also most relevant for a wide range of clinically oriented applications [18,19].…”

Raman and Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering for Biofilm Characterization

“…There is no need to stain samples and also no need to dry them because Raman scattering of water is very weak compared to other molecules (e.g., there is not any interference from water in Raman spectroscopy). We refer the readers to the other three reviews for detailed information about its use for characterizing biological structures [19][20][21]. Although Raman spectroscopy can be a useful tool for many research areas, weak Raman scattering hampers the use of this technique when a lower limit of detection is desired for a molecule of interest.…”