Abstract
Diagnosis established by means of fluorescence spectroscopy is currently used in the field of urology and bronchology. Its major advantage is that it allows the diagnosis of epithelial dysplasia or malignant proliferation even if routine diagnostic endoscopy fails to reveal any macroscopic changes.
We report the ex-vivo investigation of colorectal tissue by autofluorescence spectroscopy. Wet microscopic mounts of healthy colon mucosa were examined and compared with those prepared from colon mucosa affected by adenocarcinoma.
The diagnosis of adenocarcinoma was verified by clinical and histology means. Fluorescence spectra of tissue samples, excited by means of 488 and 514.5 nm lines of Ar ion laser and/or by 632.8 nm line of He-Ne laser, have been studied.
This study demonstrated differences in both the spectral shape and in the signal intensity (at unchanged spectral shape) of photoluminescence spectra emitted by tissue affected by adenocarcinoma as compared to that of healthy colon mucosa. The study is aimed at development of the diagnostic system and the methodology usable in the clinical practice