In vivo assessment of optical properties of basal cell carcinoma and differentiation of BCC subtypes by high-definition optical coherence tomography.

Gregor Jemec,Marc Boone,Veronique Del Marmol,Makiko Miyamoto,Alice Marneffe,Mariano Suppa

doi:10.1364/boe.7.002269

Abstract

High-definition optical coherence tomography (HD-OCT) features of basal cell carcinoma (BCC) have recently been defined. We assessed in vivo optical properties (IV-OP) of BCC, by HD-OCT. Moreover their critical values for BCC subtype differentiation were determined. The technique of semi-log plot whereby an exponential function becomes linear has been implemented on HD-OCT signals. The relative attenuation factor (µraf ) at different skin layers could be assessed.. IV-OP of superficial BCC with high diagnostic accuracy (DA) and high negative predictive values (NPV) were (i) decreased µraf in lower part of epidermis and (ii) increased epidermal thickness (E-T). IV-OP of nodular BCC with good to high DA and NPV were (i) less negative µraf in papillary dermis compared to normal adjacent skin and (ii) significantly decreased E-T and papillary dermal thickness (PD-T). In infiltrative BCC (i) high µraf in reticular dermis compared to normal adjacent skin and (ii) presence of peaks and falls in reticular dermis had good DA and high NPV. HD-OCT seems to enable the combination of in vivo morphological analysis of cellular and 3-D micro-architectural structures with IV-OP analysis of BCC. This permits BCC sub-differentiation with higher accuracy than in vivo HD-OCT analysis of morphology alone.

Highlights

Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most prevalent skin cancer among Caucasians [1,2]
In two recent studies we demonstrated that High-definition optical coherence tomography (HD-OCT) permits to quantify in vivo optical properties (IV-OP) such as light attenuation in intrinsic ageing skin [38] and in melanocytic lesions [39]
The second problem is related to their limited capability to differentiate BCC subtypes

Summary

Introduction

Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most prevalent skin cancer among Caucasians [1,2]. The incidence of BCC continues to increase worldwide. BCC treatment is associated with relevant health costs for the society. It is a multifactorial disease in which excessive sun exposure plays a major pathogenic role [3,4]. Treatment strategy has changed in the last two decades [5]. With the emergence of noninvasive therapies for superficial BCC (sBCC) such as topical immunotherapies and photodynamic therapy, there is an urgent demand for real time non-invasive diagnosis and monitoring [6,7,8,9]

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