Lymph node study by confocal Raman spectroscopy

DOI: 10.15343/0104-7809.201741013039

Abstract

Among the lymphoid organs there are lymph nodes,, which are considered as lymph filters because they are rich in
lymphocytes and other defense cells. Among the factors that contribute to their impairment we note the invasion of its
structure by neoplastic cells. Cytology is the gold-standard diagnostic test, and FNA is the technique most used to obtain
the material to be analyzed. However, some studies question its use, due to the loss of cellular architecture. Confocal
Raman spectroscopy, through its ability to utilize biochemical differences in tissues and cells, has been increasingly
prominent in this type of diagnosis. The study aimed to identify the main biochemical characteristics in normal and
compromised lymph nodes and cervical lesion using confocal Raman spectroscopy. We analyzed 12 normal and
altered lymph node samples from patients with medical indications for a lymphadenectomy by spectroscopy, followed
by statistical analysis of the main components (PCA) and linear discriminant analysis (LDA). After the analysis, it was
observed that this technique was able to discriminate the tissues with values of specificity, sensitivity and accuracy of
up to 83%. Therefore, confocal Raman spectroscopy has been shown to be an important tool in the characterization of
lymph nodes, and may help in the diagnosis of lymph node lesions in the future.