Development of a rapid macro-Raman spectroscopy system for nasopharyngeal cancer detection based on surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy

Abstract

This study aims to evaluate the utility of a home-made surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) system for detection of nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC). A Raman spectral system with a special probe and a millimeter order excitation laser spot size was developed to acquire SERS signals of blood plasma. High quality SERS spectra can be recorded from blood plasma samples belonging to 60 healthy volunteers and 96 NPC patients, and the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of 95.8% and 91.7%, respectively, can be achieved for classification between normal and cancer blood groups by principal component analysis combined with linear discriminant analysis (PCA-LDA). This exploratory study demonstrates that SERS based on a larger laser spot together with PCA-LDA has the potential for detection of nasopharyngeal cancer, and even for further in vivo cancer detection in the future.