New Life-Saving Oral Cancer Probe

A compact, miniature microscope probe has been created by researchers at the University of Texas at Austin to reduce the time it takes to diagnose oral cancer.

A compact, miniature microscope probe has been created by researchers at the University of Texas at Austin to reduce the time it takes to diagnose oral cancer.

The 20 cm long probe is 1 cm wide and can be used by doctors or dentists to screen for early-stage cancer cells. It uses a laser to view below the surface of tissue up to 500 microns deep to create 3D images. It can also layer the images on each other to create a larger view.

The light on the probe emits a cone of blue light that wakes up various molecules in the cells and causes them to absorb the light energy and re-emit it as visible fluorescence. In areas where the light changes to certain colors there may be developing tumor cells. The normal oral tissue lets off a pale green fluorescence and an early tumor appears dark green or black.

A key attribute of the probe is its micromirror, which was used in barcode scanners and is controlled by a microelectromechanical system that lets the laser beam scan an area in a programmed fashion. The micromirrors are low-cost and easy to make, and are an essential part of the probe.

Oral Cancer

Usually oral cancer is diagnosed by biopsies. The doctor will send a sample tissue to a pathologist who examines the tissue under a microscope. Then the results are sent back to the doctor. The whole process can take several weeks, is costly, and an invasive procedure. With the non-invasive probe, doctors can find out much quicker if the patient has cancerous tumors.

During the study, scientists did biopsies of 50 tissue sites from 44 people to determine if they were cancerous. Then they used the new device on the tissue sites and quickly, correctly identified all the sites that were cancerous and non-cancerous.

The death rate with oral cancer is very high because cancer is usually discovered too late in its development. At the moment there is not a comprehensive program in the US to screen for oral cancer. According to the Oral Cancer Foundation, approximately 40,000 Americans will be diagnosed with oral or pharyngeal cancer this year, and it will cause over 8,000 deaths.

Researchers are also developing similar devices to detect lung and cervical cancer. The combined research can help cancer researchers learn more about fluorescence and how it helps in cancer detection.

Sherri writes for Dr. Bosse, a Houston dentist who works at Greenspoint Dental. He urges patients to have oral cancer screenings as often as possible to detect cancer early.