DISTINCTIVE MOLECULAR ABNORMALITIES IN BENIGN AND MALIGNANT SKIN-LESIONS - STUDIES BY RAMAN-SPECTROSCOPY

Near-infrared Fourier transform Raman spectroscopy is an analytical, n ondestructive technique that provides information about the molecular structure of the investigated sample, The molecular structure of prote ins and lipids differs between neoplastic and normal tissues and there fore Raman spectroscopy has been considered promising for the diagnosi s of cancer, We aimed to compare the molecular structure of normal ski n, benign and malignant skin lesions by the near-infrared Fourier tran sform Raman spectroscopy, Biopsies were obtained from the following sk in lesions: skin tag, dermatofibroma, seborrhoeic keratosis, actinic k eratosis, keratoacanthoma, basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcino ma, nevus intradermalis, nevus compositus, dysplastic nevus and lentig o maligna, Control skin was harvested from the vicinity of these lesio ns, In the Raman spectra, the secondary structure of the proteins was reflected by the amide vibrations of peptide bonds, The principal lipi d vibrations were twisting and wagging (CH2) and CH stretching vibrati ons, Histologically distinguishable lesions showed specific combinatio ns of band changes indicating alterations in the protein conformation and in the molecular structure of the lipids, Histogenetically related lesions (actinic keratosis and sqamous cell carcinoma) produced simil ar but not identical patterns of spectral changes, Because the examine d skin lesions produced reproducible and unique spectra, we suggest th at Raman spectroscopy will be useful for diagnosis of skin lesions.