Application of Multiphoton Fluorescence and Second Harmonic Generation Microscopy in Diagnosing Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Hepatic disease has always been a major health problem in Taiwan, with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) being among the leading causes of death. Since the diagnosis of the degree of liver carcinoma is done according to the doctor’s clinical experience, there is a need for a more objective determination of the extent of this cancer. In this work, we attempt to develop an objective method to help improve the accuracy of HCC classification which will be a useful aid for clinical investigations.
In this study, we make use of two-photon fluorescence (TPF) and second harmonic generation (SHG) microscopy in imaging hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) specimens. By scanning thin sections of different HCC specimens, we attempt to correlate the change in the sample’s autofluorescence with parameters such as tumor size. We hope that this approach can lead to a more accurate classification of HCC.
Our preliminary results show that the autoflurescence intensity of non-tumor sample is higher than that of tumor sample. Our approach demonstrates the possibility of using tissue autofluroescence for tumor classification and the potential of this methodology for clinical diagnosis.