Multiphoton Microscopy Combined with Polarization Imaging for Early Diagnosis of Tumor Tissue Abnormalities

Abstract

Background: Early-stage tumor tissues exhibit microstructural and optical property abnormalities, face challenges in achieving label-free, high-resolution, and accurate identification. Multiphoton microscopy (MPM) and polarization imaging can reflect tissue morphology, metabolism, and microscopic polarization characteristics, offering new approaches for early diagnosis of tumor abnormalities. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the application value of multiphoton microscopy combined with polarization imaging in the diagnosis of early-stage tumor tissue abnormalities. Methods: A single-center retrospective study was conducted. A total of 180 archived breast tissue specimens were collected, including 58 cases of early-stage breast cancer, 64 cases of breast precancerous lesions, and 58 cases of normal breast tissue. MPM and polarization imaging were performed to extract morphological, metabolic, and polarization optical features. Using pathological diagnosis as the gold standard, one-way ANOVA, Spearman correlation analysis, and multivariate logistic regression analysis were employed to evaluate the diagnostic performance of dual-modality imaging for early-stage breast cancer. Results: Compared with precancerous lesions and normal breast tissues, early-stage breast cancer tissues showed significantly increased nucleus-to-cytoplasm ratio, cell area, and total depolarization, as well as significantly decreased collagen density, alignment regularity, and polarization anisotropy (P<0.05). Spearman analysis indicated significant correlations between major optical parameters and the degree of malignancy. Multivariate logistic regression identified nucleus-to-cytoplasm ratio, collagen alignment regularity, and total depolarization as independent diagnostic indicators for early-stage breast cancer (P<0.05). The diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and AUC of the combined MPM and polarization dual-modality imaging were significantly superior to those of single-modality imaging (P<0.05). Conclusion: Multiphoton microscopy combined with polarization imaging can effectively identify early-stage tumor tissue abnormalities, providing a reliable approach for label-free and accurate optical diagnosis of early tumors.