Light scattering spectroscopy: A new technique for clinical diagnosis of precancerous and cancerous changes in human epithelial tissues

We present a light scattering spectroscopy based technique for detection of precancerous and early cancerous changes in human epithelia in vivo. This technique employs a wavelength dependent component of light Mie-scattered from epithelial cell nuclei to measure the size distribution of these nuclei. Since nuclear atypia is one of the hallmarks of precancerous and cancerous changes in most human tissues, the technique has the potential to provide a broadly applicable means of detecting epithelial precancerous lesions and noninvasive cancers in various organs which can be optically accessed either directly or by means of optical fibers. The results of in vivo human studies performed to test the potential of light scattering spectroscopy to diagnose precancerous lesions and early cancers in four organs (Barrett's esophagus, colon, bladder, and oral cavity) are presented.