Terahertz characterisation of ordinary and aggressive types of oral squamous cell carcinoma as a function of cancer stage and treatment efficiency

Nourinovin, S., Rahman, M. M., Philpott, M. P., Abbasi, Q. H. and Alomainy, A. (2023) Terahertz characterisation of ordinary and aggressive types of oral squamous cell carcinoma as a function of cancer stage and treatment efficiency. IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement, 72, 6010009. (doi: 10.1109/TIM.2023.3312469)

Abstract

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) has asymptomatic characteristics that make it challenging to identify in the early stages and lead to metastatic effects. Terahertz (THz) spectroscopy and imaging are recognized as a novel technique for early cancer detection due to the non-ionizing nature and the significant THz wave absorption by water’s hydrogen bonds and the higher hydration of tumours. Despite this potential, there is a lack of research on the THz characterisation of oral cancer with various essential biological conditions. THz characterisation based on frozen, freshly excised tissue restricts parametric studies on important components and diverse biological situations. Therefore, we cultivated the three-dimensional (3D), organotypic model of the OSCC, to investigate the THz spectroscopy of the tumour at various phases and the effects of the anticancer drug AG1478 on its THz spectra. Moreover, we have compared the characterisation of OSCC with two levels of aggressiveness and we contrasted how well the medication worked on these two types of cell lines. The measurements were performed at the frequency range of 0.4 to 1.6 THz, and with increasing malignancy of the samples, we observed higher refractive index, absorption coefficient, and complex permittivity than normal tissue. The results demonstrates that whereas AG1478 shifts the THz spectra in the direction of the normal tissue, it has no effect on aggressive OSCC (AOSCC) under the same circumstances. These findings may contribute to techniques that diagnose and detect tumours at the early stage.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: This research was supported by the School of EECS and Centre for Cell Biology and Cutaneous Research of Bilzard Institute at the Queen Mary University of London and James Watt School of Engineering, University of Glasgow.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Nourinovin, Miss Shohreh and Abbasi, Professor Qammer
• Authors: Nourinovin, S., Rahman, M. M., Philpott, M. P., Abbasi, Q. H., and Alomainy, A.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Electronics and Nanoscale Engineering
• Journal Name: IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement
• Publisher: IEEE
• ISSN: 0018-9456
• ISSN (Online): 1557-9662
• Published Online: 07 September 2023
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2023 IEEE
• First Published: First published in IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement 72:6010009
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the publisher copyright policy