Spectral detection of micro-metastases in lymph node histo-pathology

The first detection of breast cancer micrometastases in lymph nodes by infrared spectral imaging and methods of multivariate analysis is reported. Micrometastases are indicators of early spread of cancer from the organ originally affected by disease, and their detection is of prime importance for the staging and treatment of cancer. Infrared spectral imaging, at a spatial resolution of ca. 10-12 mu m, can detect small metastases down to the level of a few cancerous cells. The results presented here add to a rapidly growing database of infrared spectral imaging results for cancer diagnostics.