IUVSTA 15th International Vacuum Congress (IVC-15), AVS 48th International Symposium (AVS-48), 11th International Conference on Solid Surfaces (ICSS-11)
    Biomaterials Tuesday Sessions
       Session BI-TuP

Paper BI-TuP11
Imaging Biomolecules for Skin Cancer Demarcation

Tuesday, October 30, 2001, 5:30 pm, Room 134/135

Session: Surface Characterization and Non-Fouling Surfaces Poster Session
Presenter: M.B. Ericson, Chalmers University of Technology - Göteborg University, Sweden
Authors: M.B. Ericson, Chalmers University of Technology - Göteborg University, Sweden
A. Rosén, Chalmers University of Technology - Göteborg University, Sweden
A.-M. Wennberg, Sahlgrenska University Hospital - Göteborg University, Sweden
C. Sandberg, Sahlgrenska University Hospital - Göteborg University, Sweden
F. Gudmundsson, Chalmers University of Technology - Göteborg University, Sweden
O. Larkö, Sahlgrenska University Hospital - Göteborg University, Sweden
Correspondent: Click to Email
Protoporphyrin IX, Pp IX, is a photoactive porphyrin molecule formed in the cell heame synthesis. It has been shown that Pp IX is formed to a larger extent in tumor cells due to enzymatic and metabolic differences compared to normal cells. This effect can be enhanced by exposing the cells to an excess of aminolevulinic acid, ALA, a precursor in the heame synthesis. By imaging the fluorescence from Pp IX molecules in the skin, the extension of skin tumor can be visualised with respect to the enhanced Pp IX production. This technique is based on photodynamic therapy, PDT, which is a new clinical treatment for cancer that has developed over the past 25 years. In a clinical study of 40 patients with basal cell carcinoma, a malignant type of skin cancer, the Pp IX fluorescence was recorded by a CCD camera set-up. The lesions were treated with ALA cream and thereafter the fluorescence was visualised by using filtered mercury lamps as excitation light-source. The contrast in the fluorescence images was evaluated as a function of ALA application time in order to optimise the technique. The study showed a correlation between the fluorescence images and histological pattern however the individual variations were large. Further studies are planned in order to further improve the technique.