title: Raman spectroscopy for cytopathology of exfoliated cervical cells.
abstract: Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer affecting women worldwide but mortality can be decreased by early detection of pre-malignant lesions. The Pap smear test is the most commonly used method in cervical cancer screening programmes. Although specificity is high for this test, it is widely acknowledged that sensitivity can be poor mainly due to the subjective nature of the test. There is a need for new objective tests for the early detection of pre-malignant cervical lesions. Over the past two decades, Raman spectroscopy has emerged as a promising new technology for cancer screening and diagnosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential of Raman spectroscopy for cervical cancer screening using both Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia (CIN) and Squamous Intraepithelial Lesion (SIL) classification terminology. ThinPrep® Pap samples were recruited from a cervical screening population. Raman spectra were recorded from single cell nuclei and subjected to multivariate statistical analysis. Normal and abnormal ThinPrep® samples were discriminated based on the biochemical fingerprint of the cells using Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Principal Component Analysis - Linear Discriminant Analysis (PCA-LDA) was employed to build classification models based on either CIN or SIL terminology. This study has shown that Raman spectroscopy can be successfully applied to the study of routine cervical cytology samples from a cervical screening programme and that the use of CIN terminology resulted in improved sensitivity for high grade cases.
authors.affiliation: DIT Centre for Radiation and Environmental Science, FOCAS Research Institute, Dublin Institute of Technology, Kevin St, Dublin 8, Ireland. fiona.lyng@dit.ie and School of Physics, Dublin Institute of Technology, Kevin St, Dublin 8, Ireland.
authors.forename: I R
authors.initials: IR
authors.lastname: Ramos
authors.affiliation: School of Physics, Dublin Institute of Technology, Kevin St, Dublin 8, Ireland.
authors.forename: A D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Meade
authors.affiliation: DIT Centre for Radiation and Environmental Science, FOCAS Research Institute, Dublin Institute of Technology, Kevin St, Dublin 8, Ireland. fiona.lyng@dit.ie and School of Physics, Dublin Institute of Technology, Kevin St, Dublin 8, Ireland.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ibrahim
authors.affiliation: FOCAS Research Institute, Dublin Institute of Technology, Kevin St, Dublin 8, Ireland.
authors.forename: H J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Byrne
authors.affiliation: Cytopathology Department, Altnagelvin Hospital, Western Health and Social Care Trust, Derry, Northern Ireland, UK.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: McMenamin
authors.affiliation: Cytopathology Department, Altnagelvin Hospital, Western Health and Social Care Trust, Derry, Northern Ireland, UK.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: McKenna
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, Dublin Institute of Technology, Kevin St, Dublin 8, Ireland.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Malkin
authors.affiliation: DIT Centre for Radiation and Environmental Science, FOCAS Research Institute, Dublin Institute of Technology, Kevin St, Dublin 8, Ireland. fiona.lyng@dit.ie and School of Physics, Dublin Institute of Technology, Kevin St, Dublin 8, Ireland.
authors.forename: F M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Lyng
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D065006:Papanicolaou Test; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D013059:Spectrum Analysis, Raman; D065310:Squamous Intraepithelial Lesions of the Cervix / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology*; D014626:Vaginal Smears; D002578:Uterine Cervical Dysplasia / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology