Potential for Raman spectroscopy to provide cancer screening using a peripheral blood sample.

Harris, Andrew T; Lungari, Anxhela; Needham, Christopher J; Smith, Stephen L; Lones, Michael A; Fisher, Sheila E; Yang, Xuebin B; Cooper, Nicola; Kirkham, Jennifer; Alastair Smith, D; Martin-Hirsch, Dominic P; High, Alec S

Abstract

Cancer poses a massive health burden with incidence rates expected to double globally over the next decade. In the United Kingdom screening programmes exists for cervical, breast, and colorectal cancer. The ability to screen individuals for solid malignant tumours using only a peripheral blood sample would revolutionise cancer services and permit early diagnosis and intervention. Raman spectroscopy interrogates native biochemistry through the interaction of light with matter, producing a high definition biochemical 'fingerprint' of the target material. This paper explores the possibility of using Raman spectroscopy to discriminate between cancer and non-cancer patients through a peripheral blood sample. Forty blood samples were obtained from patients with Head and Neck cancer and patients with respiratory illnesses to act as a positive control. Raman spectroscopy was carried out on all samples with the resulting spectra being used to build a classifier in order to distinguish between the cancer and respiratory patients' spectra; firstly using principal component analysis (PCA)/linear discriminant analysis (LDA), and secondly with a genetic evolutionary algorithm. The PCA/LDA classifier gave a 65% sensitivity and specificity for discrimination between the cancer and respiratory groups. A sensitivity score of 75% with a specificity of 75% was achieved with a 'trained' evolutionary algorithm. In conclusion this preliminary study has demonstrated the feasibility of using Raman spectroscopy in cancer screening and diagnostics of solid tumours through a peripheral blood sample. Further work needs to be carried out for this technique to be implemented in the clinical setting.

Citation

Harris, A. T., Lungari, A., Needham, C. J., Smith, S. L., Lones, M. A., Fisher, S. E., Yang, X. B., Cooper, N., Kirkham, J., Alastair Smith, D., Martin-Hirsch, D. P., & High, A. S. (2009). Potential for Raman spectroscopy to provide cancer screening using a peripheral blood sample. Head and Neck Oncology, 1(34), https://doi.org/10.1186/1758-3284-1-34

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Sep 17, 2009
• Online Publication Date: Sep 17, 2009
• Publication Date: 2009
• Deposit Date: Dec 15, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Dec 19, 2024
• Journal: Head and Neck Oncology
• Electronic ISSN: 1758-3284
• Publisher: Open Access Publishing London
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 1
• Issue: 34
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/1758-3284-1-34
• Keywords: Raman Spectrum, Linear Discriminant Analysis, Peripheral Blood Sample, Raman Spectroscopy, Cartesian Genetic Program
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/43088248
• Publisher URL: https://headandneckoncology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1758-3284-1-34