title: RAMAN spectroscopy imaging improves the diagnosis of papillary thyroid carcinoma.
abstract: Recent investigations strongly suggest that Raman spectroscopy (RS) can be used as a clinical tool in cancer diagnosis to improve diagnostic accuracy. In this study, we evaluated the efficiency of Raman imaging microscopy to discriminate between healthy and neoplastic thyroid tissue, by analyzing main variants of Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma (PTC), the most common type of thyroid cancer. We performed Raman imaging of large tissue areas (from 100 × 100 μm2up to 1 × 1 mm2), collecting 38 maps containing about 9000 Raman spectra. Multivariate statistical methods, including Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA), were applied to translate Raman spectra differences between healthy and PTC tissues into diagnostically useful information for a reliable tissue classification. Our study is the first demonstration of specific biochemical features of the PTC profile, characterized by significant presence of carotenoids with respect to the healthy tissue. Moreover, this is the first evidence of Raman spectra differentiation between classical and follicular variant of PTC, discriminated by LDA with high efficiency. The combined histological and Raman microscopy analyses allow clear-cut integration of morphological and biochemical observations, with dramatic improvement of efficiency and reliability in the differential diagnosis of neoplastic thyroid nodules, paving the way to integrative findings for tumorigenesis and novel therapeutic strategies.
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Struttura della Materia (ISM-CNR), via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, 00133 Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: Julietta V
authors.initials: JV
authors.lastname: Rau
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Struttura della Materia (ISM-CNR), via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, 00133 Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: Valerio
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Graziani
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Struttura della Materia (ISM-CNR), via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, 00133 Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fosca
authors.affiliation: Policlinico Universitario Campus Bio-medico, via Álvaro del Portillo 200, 00128 Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Taffon
authors.affiliation: Thermo Fisher Scientific, Strada Rivoltana, 20090 Rodano, Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Massimiliano
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rocchia
authors.affiliation: Policlinico Universitario Campus Bio-medico, via Álvaro del Portillo 200, 00128 Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: Pierfilippo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Crucitti
authors.affiliation: Policlinico Universitario Campus Bio-medico, via Álvaro del Portillo 200, 00128 Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pozzilli
authors.affiliation: Policlinico Universitario Campus Bio-medico, via Álvaro del Portillo 200, 00128 Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Onetti Muda
authors.affiliation: Policlinico Universitario Campus Bio-medico, via Álvaro del Portillo 200, 00128 Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Caricato
authors.affiliation: Policlinico Universitario Campus Bio-medico, via Álvaro del Portillo 200, 00128 Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Crescenzi
mesh_terms: D056808:Biostatistics; D002291:Carcinoma, Papillary / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D008853:Microscopy / Q000379:methods*; D010336:Pathology / Q000379:methods*; D013059:Spectrum Analysis, Raman / Q000379:methods*; D000077273:Thyroid Cancer, Papillary; D013964:Thyroid Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology*