Mb. Silberberg et al., DETECTING RETINOIC ACID-INDUCED BIOCHEMICAL-ALTERATIONS IN SQUAMOUS-CELL CARCINOMA USING INTRINSIC FLUORESCENCE SPECTROSCOPY, The Laryngoscope, 104(3), 1994, pp. 278-282
Intrinsic fluorescence spectroscopy offers a new method for diagnosing
head and neck cancers. By establishing a unique spectral fingerprint
for benign tissue, one can readily identify subtle changes in tissue b
ased on altered spectral patterns. The authors applied this technology
to a multicellular tumor spheroid (MTS) model and obtained baseline s
pectral data. A cohort of MTS was treated with the chemopreventive age
nt retinoic acid (RA) to determine its effect on tumor cells. Excitati
on and emission spectroscopy were performed on the samples. Spectrosco
pic scans demonstrated consistently that RA-treated MTS exhibit a decr
ease in the peak associated with reduced nicotinamide-adenine dinucleo
tide (NADH) and an increase in the peaks associated with flavins, tryp
tophan, and cytokeratins when compared to controls. These findings are
suggestive of alterations in cellular electron transport, an increase
in proteins incorporating tryptophan, and a decrease in adenosine tri
phosphate (ATP) in the RA-treated cells. A discussion of the potential
clinical applications of intrinsic fluorescence spectroscopy is inclu
ded.