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Non-Invasive Diagnostic Tool Can Differentiate Among Small Round Blue Tumours: Presented at AAP

By Crina Frincu-Mallos, PhD

WASHINGTON, DC -- October 25, 2009 -- Researchers can rely on Raman spectroscopy for a rapid and accurate diagnosis of aggressive tumours such as neuroblastoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, Ewing's sarcoma, and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The non-invasive technique correctly differentiated 90.4% of tumour samples, according to a study presented here at the 2009 American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference & Exhibition.

These tumours, belonging to a group known as small round blue cell tumours (SRBCTs), are hard to differentiate by histology only, and usually require labour-intensive techniques such as immunohistochemistry for proper diagnosis.

Raman spectroscopy, a non-invasive technique that relies on scattering of monochromatic light from a laser, can be used to detect biomolecular changes in tissues caused by disease. Water is a very weak Raman scatterer, hence it allows for Raman measurements to be made in biological samples. Previous studies have shown that Raman spectroscopy can be successfully employed to differentiate between pre-cancerous tissue and normal tissue (Photochem Photobiol. 1998;68:123-132).

The investigators sought to determine if a simple, direct technique such as Raman spectroscopy could allow them to correctly identify biopsy specimens from patients diagnosed with 1 of these 4 SRBCTs.

They collected a total of 32 malignant aspirates from 21 patients who underwent biopsy procedures at Children's Hospital of Michigan, Detroit, Michigan. Both fresh and frozen tissue samples were used for this analysis, each sample being divided in 2, with one part prepared for the Raman detector, and the other analysed by a paediatric pathologist.

The results were presented here October 17 by Rachel Kast, MS, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Center for Smart Sensors and Integrated Microsystems, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan.

The researchers, led by Michael D. Klein, MD, FAAP, Department of Surgery, Wayne State University, Detroit Medical Center, and Department of Pediatric Surgery, Children's Hospital of Michigan, Detroit, Michigan, collected a minimum of 12 spectra per malignant tissue sample available, amounting to a total of 179 Raman spectra from neuroblastoma (n = 9), 37 spectra from Ewing's sarcoma (n = 3), 164 spectra from rhabdomyosarcoma (n = 4), and 100 spectra from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (n = 6).

A statistical algorithm converted the data from each type of tumour into a mean spectrum, explained Kast, and the resulting 4 mean Raman spectra showed differences between these SRBCTs which allowed the correct identification of the tumour type, when compared with the control samples processed in the pathology laboratory.

The researchers concluded that Raman spectroscopy "quickly and accurately" differentiate SRBCTs, providing a "single, easy-to-use test for near real-time diagnosis."

[Presentation title: Differentiation of Small Round Blue Cell Tumors Using Raman Spectroscopy. Abstract 7815]

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