Functional and molecular 3D mapping of angiosarcoma tumor using non-invasive laser speckle, hyperspectral, and photoacoustic imaging

PURPOSE: The gold standard for skin cancer diagnosis is surgical excisional biopsy and histopathological examination. Several non-invasive diagnostic techniques exist, although they have not yet translated into clinical use. This is a proof-of-concept study to assess the possibility of imaging an angiosarcoma in the periocular area.

METHODS: We use laser speckle, hyperspectral, and photoacoustic imaging to monitor blood perfusion and oxygen saturation, as well as the molecular composition of the tissue. The information obtained from each imaging modality was combined in order to yield a more comprehensive picture of the function, as well as molecular composition of a rapidly growing cutaneous angiosarcoma in the periocular area.

RESULTS: We found an increase in perfusion coupled with a reduction in oxygen saturation in the angiosarcoma. We could also extract the molecular composition of the angiosarcoma at a depth, depicting both the oxygen saturation and highlighting the presence of connective tissue via collagen.

CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrate the different physiological parameters that can be obtained with the different techniques and how these can be combined to provide detailed 3D maps of the functional and molecular properties of tumors useful in preoperative assessment.