Predictive Value of Opto-magnetic Imaging Spectroscopy in Discriminating Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma from Non-tumor Tissue in Surgical Margins

Abstract

Negative surgical margins status is of extreme importance for better prognosis and lower recurrence rate in patients undergoing surgical treatment for oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Standard histopathology is time consuming and current optical procedures come with various limitations. We examined the potential of a new imaging technique—opto-magnetic imaging spectroscopy (OMIS) in discriminating tumor (OSCC) from adjacent non-tumor oral cavity tissue. A total of 46 samples from 21 patients were included in this study. Samples were taken from a fresh surgical specimen of primary OSCC. Digital imaging of samples was performed within 60 min of resection using OMIS device. Images were processed through a specifically designed convolution algorithm based on light-matter interaction. As a result a convolution spectrum was generated. Predictive value of spectral data was assessed using correlation tests and Naive Bayes classification model. There was no significant correlation in distribution of characteristic peaks between tumor and non-tumor tissue (P > 0.05). Tumor tissue showed more magnetic activity compared to non-tumor tissue. Naive Bayes classifier with kernel density estimation discriminated tumor from non-tumor tissue with the accuracy of 82.61%, 86.96% sensitivity, 78.26% specificity and the AUC value of 0.917. OMIS seems to be a promising optical method for ex vivo characterization of OSCC and non-tumor tissue. Further investigation is necessary to determine how tissue type and level of pathological transformation impact OMIS results. Ultimately, this could aid surgeons in using this method as an in vivo indicator for surgical resection with safe margins.