Autofluorescence imaging for recurrence detection in skin cancer post‐operative scars

Autofluorescence imaging for recurrence detection in skin cancer post‐operative scars:

Abstract

This clinical study is a first attempt to use autofluorescence for recurrence diagnosis of skin cancer in post‐operative scars. The proposed diagnostic parameter is based on a reduction in scar autofluorescence, evaluated in the green spectral channel. The validity of the method has been tested on 110 post‐operative scars from 56 patients suspected of non‐melanoma skin cancer, with 8 patients (13 scars) available for the repeated examination. The recurrence diagnosis within a scar has been made after two subsequent autofluorescence check‐ups, representing the temporal difference between the scar autofluorescence amplitudes as a vector. The recognition of recurrence has been discussed to represent the significant deviations from the value of vector angle θ. This new autofluorescence based method can be easily integrated into the post‐operative monitoring of surgical scars and can help diagnose the recurrence of skin cancer from the early stage of scar development.

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