title: Laser-induced fluorescence made simple: implications for the diagnosis and follow-up monitoring of basal cell carcinoma.
abstract: Noninvasive treatments are increasingly being used for the management of basal cell carcinoma (BCC), the predominant type of nonmelanoma skin cancer, making the development of noninvasive diagnostic technologies highly relevant for clinical practice. Laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) spectroscopy emerges as an attractive diagnostic technique for the diagnosis and demarcation of BCC due to its noninvasiveness, high sensitivity, real-time measurements, and user-friendly methodology. LIF relies on the principle of differential fluorescence emission between abnormal and normal skin tissues (ex vivo and in vivo) in response to excitation by a specific wavelength of light. Fluorescence originates either from endogenous fluorophores (autofluorescence) or from exogenously administered fluorophores (photosensitizers). The measured optical properties and fluorophore contributions of normal skin and BCC are significantly different from each other and correlate well with tissue histology. Photodynamic diagnosis (PDD) is based on the visualization of a fluorophore, with the ability to accumulate in tumor tissue, by the use of fluorescence imaging. PDD may be used for detecting subclinical disease, determining surgical margins, and following-up patients for residual tumor or BCC relapse. In this review, we will present the basic principles of LIF and discuss its uses for the diagnosis, management, and follow-up of BCC.
authors.affiliation: University of Athens, Andreas Syggros Hospital, Department of Dermatology, Photobiology Unit, 5 Dragoumi Street, 16121 Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Eleni
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Drakaki
authors.affiliation: University of Athens, Andreas Syggros Hospital, Department of Dermatology, Photobiology Unit, 5 Dragoumi Street, 16121 Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Clio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dessinioti
authors.affiliation: University of Athens, Andreas Syggros Hospital, Department of Dermatology, Photobiology Unit, 5 Dragoumi Street, 16121 Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Alexander J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Stratigos
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Dermatology "Colentina" Clinical Hospital, Carol Davila Medical School, 72202 Bucharest, Romania.
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Salavastru
authors.affiliation: University of Athens, Andreas Syggros Hospital, Department of Dermatology, Photobiology Unit, 5 Dragoumi Street, 16121 Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Antoniou
mesh_terms: D002280:Basal Cell Carcinoma / Q000737:chemistry / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007834:Lasers; D061848:Optical Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000737:chemistry / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence / Q000379:methods*