Pilot study on the value of Raman spectroscopy in the entity assignment of salivary gland tumors

PLoS One. 2021 Sep 16;16(9):e0257470. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0257470. eCollection 2021.

Abstract

Background: The entity assignment of salivary gland tumors (SGT) based on histomorphology can be challenging. Raman spectroscopy has been applied to analyze differences in the molecular composition of tissues. The aim of this study was to evaluate the suitability of RS for entity assignment in SGT.

Methods: Raman data were collected in deparaffinized sections of pleomorphic adenomas (PA) and adenoid cystic carcinomas (ACC). Multivariate data and chemometric analysis were completed using the Unscrambler software.

Results: The Raman spectra detected in ACC samples were mostly assigned to nucleic acids, lipids, and amides. In a principal component-based linear discriminant analysis (LDA) 18 of 20 tumor samples were classified correctly.

Conclusion: In this proof of concept study, we show that a reliable SGT diagnosis based on LDA algorithm appears possible, despite variations in the entity-specific mean spectra. However, a standardized workflow for tissue sample preparation, measurement setup, and chemometric algorithms is essential to get reliable results.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Discriminant Analysis
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Paraffin Embedding
  • Pilot Projects
  • Principal Component Analysis
  • Salivary Gland Neoplasms / chemistry*
  • Salivary Gland Neoplasms / pathology
  • Spectrum Analysis, Raman*

Grants and funding

This work was founded by the Interdisciplinary Centre for Clinical Science (IZKF) of the University of Würzburg, Grant Number Z-2/78 to TJM. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.