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Study of skin cancer by Raman microscopy

David McLean, MD, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC

Skin cancer, including basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and malignant melanoma, is by far the most common cancer in Canada (about 75,000 new cases each year). Raman spectroscopy is an optical spectroscopic technique that can provide highly specific information about chemical composition and molecular structure of basically all biological materials. This technique has been proved to be effective in detecting biochemical changes associated with diseases including skin cancer. We will use Raman microscopy, which is essentially a combination of Raman spectroscopy and microscopy, to investigate skin cancer in different stages. The goal is to find cancer markers that can be used to improve clinical decision making. The results will shed light on the molecular basis of skin cancer. Most importantly, Raman spectroscopy is a non-invasive method. The information obtained from the proposed research project will be valuable for the development of Raman-based devices for non-invasive diagnosis of skin cancer

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