Abstract PL02-03: Cancer risk stratification through biophotonic detection of field carcinogenesis

Abstract

Abstract One of the major hurdles for population screening for cancer is the low prevalence of disease (generally significantly less than 10%) in the target population. Devising an accurate, minimally-intrusive risk-stratification technique is therefore of paramount importance for efficacious population screening. Our group has developed a suite of light-scattering technologies that allow quantification of subtle micro/nanoscale architecture consequences of the well-established genetic/epigenetic alterations of field carcinogenesis. These occur in the microscopically normal mucosa as the particle sizes (e.g., ribosomes, mitochondria, macromolecular complexes) are below the diffraction limit of light (∼0.5 microns). We have used these techniques to interrogate easily accessible surrogate sites for cancer risk assessment. For instance, using a fiberoptic probe inserted into the rectum can sense the risk of advanced adenomas with ∼90% accuracy. Furthermore, buccal swabs have been shown to discriminate between smokers with and without lung cancer with excellent performance. This paradigm may exist for a number of cancer types (esophageal, ovarian, pancreas, etc.) thereby providing a broad platform for population prescreening. Citation Information: Cancer Prev Res 2010;3(12 Suppl):PL02-03.