Open AccessHistological correlates of optical coherence tomography in non‐melanoma skin cancer
Author(s) -
Coleman Andrew John,
Richardson Thomas James,
Orchard Guy,
Uddin Ayesha,
Choi Min Joo,
Lacy Katie Elizabeth
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
skin research and technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.521
H-Index - 69
eISSN - 1600-0846
pISSN - 0909-752X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0846.2012.00626.x
Subject(s) - optical coherence tomography , skin cancer , basal cell carcinoma , histology , medicine , pathology , malignancy , cancer , basal cell , radiology
Background Non‐melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) is rarely fatal but is now the most common malignancy occurring in white populations, accounting for 70% of the cost of managing skin cancer. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) has the potential to improve diagnostic accuracy and help delineate pre‐surgical margins in NMSC. Its widespread clinical acceptance awaits the accumulation of evidence from studies of direct histological comparisons. Method In this study, seventy‐eight subjects presenting with skin lesions, including 28 NMSCs, were imaged using the VivoSight ® OCT scanner and a biopsy taken. Haemotoxylin and eosin stained histology sections were compared with the OCT images. Results The depth of superficial basal cell carcinoma (BCC) lesions (<1 mm) can be measured accurately using OCT. A low‐strength OCT signal at the periphery of the cell nests seen in superficial and nodular BCC is identified as corresponding to cellular palisading. A weak inverse linear correlation ( r 2 = 0.3) is found between the optical attenuation coefficient measured on OCT and the nuclear‐cytoplasmic ratio (N/C) of cells determined from histology. Conclusions OCT has clinical value in providing accurate dimensional measurement of superficial BCC and in identifying the presence of peripheral palisading in nodular BCC.