Infrared Visualization of Prostate Cancer Tissues with Various Gleason Scores

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Prostate cancer is the second most significant cause of male mortality, beneath lung cancer. Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and digital rectal examination (DRE) play the most critical roles in identifying prostate cancer, and their use has risen with the incidence of prostate cancer worldwide. Cancer-specific mortality has been reduced as a result of these tests. On the other hand, the PSA and DRE led to overdiagnosis, overtreatment, and inappropriate prostate cancer testing. This situation led to modifications in prostate cancer recommendations, most notably by the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) in 2012. OBJECTIVES: This study evaluated the infrared transmittance of transrectal prostate biopsy tissue to see a possible difference between the total and biopsy tissue. We also saw variations based on the total of Gleason's scores. To fulfill the stated aim, in the following tasks, (i) we investigated the relationship between prostate tissue resolution and radiation wavelength in the spectrum's infrared area, and (ii) elaborated software that allowed the received images to be processed in an infrared environment and detect prostate cancer tissue with a 95% confidence interval. METHODS: 174 formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded (FFPE) cases (prostate biopsies) were included in the study. There were five groups based on Gleason score (GS 6 [3+3], GS 7 [3+4], GS 7 [4+3], GS 8 [3+5], [4+4], [5+3], and GS 9 [4+5] and 10 [5+5] were combined). After the infrared exposition of each FFPE biopsy sample, our algorithm generated the image. Furthermore, the findings were matched to histomorphology reports. We employed the software's integrated statistical analysis and students' t-distribution. RESULTS: The experiment revealed that when the Gleason score sum was 6 (3+3) and 7 (3+4) or 7 (4+3), image intensities in the infrared environment were almost indistinguishable from each other with 95% confidence, which cannot be said for prostate tissue with a higher Gleason score sum (8 (4+4; 3+5); (5+3) and 9-10). However, these changes were not evident in the first three groups since the experiment was conducted on biopsy material with a tissue thickness of 1 mm. CONCLUSIONS: Infrared radiation can identify prostate cancer in prostate biopsy tissues. However, further investigations are needed to validate the modality's effectiveness for prostate cancer diagnosis.