LASER-INDUCED FLUORESCENCE SPECTROSCOPY OF HUMAN COLONIC MUCOSA - DETECTION OF ADENOMATOUS TRANSFORMATION

To evaluate the potential of laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy for the detection of premalignant lesions of the gastrointestinal tract, the hypothesis that adenomatous transformation of colonic mucosa results in an alteration of laser-induced fluorescence that enables its differentiation from normal or hyperplastic tissue was tested. A fiberoptic catheter coupled to a helium-cadmium laser (325 nm) and an optical multichannel analyzer were used to obtain fluorescence spectra (350-600 nm) from 35 normal colonic specimens and 35 resected adenomatous polyps. A score based on six wavelengths was derived by stepwise multivariate linear regression analysis of the spectra. The mean score (±SEM) was + 0.86 ± 0.06 for normal mucosa and -0.86 ± 0.06 for adenomatous polyps (P < 0.001). Spectra from an additional 34 normal specimens, 16 adenomatous polyps, and 16 hyperplastic polyps were prospectively classified with accuracies of 100%, 100%, and 94%, respectively. The mean score for hyperplastic polyps was significantly different from adenomatous (P < 0.001) but not from normal tissue. Thus, quantitative analysis of fluorescence spectra enables the detection of adenomatous transformation in colonic mucosa. © 1990.