Fractal Dimension Analysis to Detect the Progress of Cancer Using Transmission Optical Microscopy

Abstract

Fractal dimension, a measure of self-similarity in a structure, is a powerful physical parameter for the characterization of structural property of many partially filled disordered materials. Biological tissues are fractal in nature and reports show a change in self-similarity associated with the progress of cancer, resulting in changes in their fractal dimensions. Here, we report that fractal dimension measurement is a potential technique for the detection of different stages of cancer using transmission optical microscopy. Transmission optical microscopy of a thin tissue sample produces intensity distribution patterns proportional to its refractive index pattern, representing its mass density distribution. We measure fractal dimension detection of different cancer stages and find its universal feature. Many deadly cancers are difficult to detect in their early to different stages due to the hard-to-reach location of the organ and/or lack of symptoms until very late stages. To study these deadly cancers, tissue microarray (TMA) samples containing different stages of cancers are analyzed for pancreatic, breast, colon, and prostate cancers. The fractal dimension method correctly differentiates cancer stages in progressive cancer, raising possibilities for a physics-based accurate diagnosis method for cancer detection.